Bionic Familiar
by Shadelyn Jad Efennec
Summary: Can the children ever be saved and Ascelin's questions answered? The young man living in a world far off in the distant future, where every child born is the victim of an unimaginable crime and memories can cost lives. He strives to find the why of things and how to turn it all back around. No simple feat though in a place where doom is inevitable and destruction the usual scenery.
1. Chapter 1

The city.

A reckoning no longer a force to be reckoned with aside from the rot and waste, from the desperate and the insane, to the needy and the confused. The skyscrapers. All either crumbling to dust as the seconds, days, years roll on. Or containing the remaining inhabitants that dare chance a collapse upon their heads.

A risk many were willing to take, seeing as shelter and even the _slightest_ feeling of security was no longer a common occurrence anymore. Hardly even choice.

The roads, once nicely paved and commonly used by the automotive things. Vehicles, cars and such of the like. Were now piles of rust and rotted wires and broken apart gravel and stone. A hazardous place to walk let alone drive, not that anyone had done that in decades.

The street lights and power poles that lined the sidewalks of once upon a time ago now snapped and fallen, crashed into the side of some buildings, over the expanse of the old roads, some crushing piles of spoiled metal and plastic that used to be motored whatnots. Whichever way they fell so long ago, no one ever bothered to move them.

"Look at this, Brother!"

The young man obeyed, glancing to the pile of decaying alloy.

"What was it, Brother?"

He didn't stop walking as he looked, "Used to be a moped, Pyro. Come on, keep walking. Nothing to use there and it's getting dark."

The young one, Pyro, obeyed without question this time, trotting quickly to catch up to the older one's longer stride and pace. "Never nothin' to use, Brother. Nothing ever. We should pack up and go somewhere else."

"I know. Now hush."

They were closing in on a more suburb part of the tragic city, where the skyscrapers gave way to more rundown motels that used to be five star casino resorts back in the day. There were more alleys and shadows here than what made the young man comfortable.

But he didn't trust the bigger of all the ruins and quite frankly, every place was evenly dangerous.

The sun was partly set now, the sky going into the few precious moment of the twilight before darkness, that blaze of colors and hues that somehow managed to make all these desolate sights spark with a little something he just couldn't put a word to in his mind.

Fires were becoming apparent as the nighttime air continued to progress across the empty and dead streets. Campfires inside some of the places. People who were either dumber than the norm, desperate not to freeze in their sicknesses, or capable and confident that they and their abilities can hold their own against the popular threats of this daily life.

The two snuck by them wordlessly, watching their feet as not to disturb the silence with a single sound.

The older, young man was lithely muscles and easy on the eyes. Medium chestnut hair fell in short shaggy locks about his head, occasionally straying into his handsome dark eyes. Tan skin complimented his features easily with the occasional faded scar and nearly vanished bruise from past fights recent and far.

He wore a dusty warn black leather jacket over a simple long-sleeved red undershirt and torn-up dirty blue jeans. The collar of the leather framed up around his neck reaching his chin's height and the pockets were deeper than they appeared.

Pyro was a youthful mirror image with bigger, rounder eyes and lacking the stress lines. Not quite so tan and not near so many scars and marks to look at in the mirror. He was skinny and about as muscled as a child his age, seven, could be.

"Ascelin?"

The older one stopped walking at that. It was rare that Pyro used his actual name to catch his attention. "Hm?"

"Look," Pyro whispered, gesturing to the darkness of the alley they were standing nearest, at the end of.

Two red, glowing, round, pupil-less eyes seemed to stare emptily, creepily out at them from the darkness.

Ascelin put a hand on Pyro's small shoulder, coaxing him to move along a little quicker than what they'd been pacing before. Mumbling, "Come on…"

He scanned the buildings around them upon the distance they covered, night pitch was in full swing now and it was quite possibly bringing death on the wake as it could every and any time. Night was often when the more psychotic and hopeful struck.

He finally found what he hoped for, close to at the best. An old abandoned warehouse without fires alighting the inside.

Casually, he lifted Pyro up with one arm and the child automatically clung to his back in a way that faltered his movements the least as he stalked towards the large gaping hole in the grubby factory's wall.

Peering into the blackness, he had to give his eyes a moment to adjust before carefully placing his feet on the most stable looking rocks to begin his descent inside the unknown but hopefully good choice place for the night.

There was a click.

A small, insignificant sound before light flooded the floor at his feet like a flashlight.

Ascelin glanced to Pyro, the boy's head resting on his shoulder, and into those two, big, round, open yellow eyes that didn't need to blink and shushed him quietly. The sound making Pyro's eyes dim accordingly.

"Not now," Ascelin murmured. "I can do this."

He stayed aware of the boy however, it was rather reflexive whenever he was on his back. The hologram that Pyro fancied to look human was gone, turned off. Leaving his true self open for eyes to see.

A robot boy, a small bionic child. Thoroughly accustomed with bolts and gears, springs, metal for skin and lights for eyes. They were the remaining sign of electricity and power in the world, the children, that was. All the children.

It happened eons ago. Too far back than what most cared to remember. Something had happened to all the kids whence they became a certain age.

Something took them. And something returned them as this. Brothers, sisters, children, all at the age of four stolen out of thin air. As if by magic. And returned the next day as little complicated robots with the same personalities as they had before they left. Everyone had one. And if someone didn't have a younger to take, than they were left with a random of which they never met or expected.

Such was the case with Ascelin. He woke up one day inside an old barn in the middle of nowhere. It had been a suitable place to crash for a night or two, the soiled hay had offered more cushioning than most got anymore. But then there he was, a little too-human looking machine limp with dark eyes.

Until its master grew awake, then he had jumped to life and started asking a million questions and saying statements all at once. Like what was his name going to be and where they were gonna go next. That he was hungry and the hay smelled like old mold and now Ascelin had smelled that way too.

It was sad, really. Because though the little ones never remembered what happened to them to make them this way. And often upon being returned, their master, their possible big sibling or parent no longer believed they were them, that they were no longer alive. And distraught by the loss, treated the Familiars like garbage and objects.

But Ascelin was smarter than most if nothing else. He had looked into Pyro, knew what all the chips and panels and plugs meant, and found the most vital part of every ro-boy and girl. A small chip in their core, just under where their hearts would be, was virtually impossible to crack or break into with even the strongest of tools.

It contained the child's soul. That vital piece not only ran the body and made the works; it proved that the kid was still his or herself.

Ascelin didn't remember well the day he woke up human again. There was no set age for that. Some of the Familiars either became normal children again upon their master's death or didn't and stayed shutdown forever. Ascelin didn't even remember his master's name. But whenever he thought about it, he remembered that if the Familiars weren't programmed to listen to and love their leader no matter what, he'd of killed his own himself.

It had either once been his own brother or father; he couldn't recall.

But he didn't make the same mistakes. He kept Pyro as happy as he could and treated him as any child should be treated if not a little over-protective. But that was the only way to be when your lives depended on one another.

If Ascelin died, Pyro would either rot and rust forever or become human again with no specific memory of him. If Pyro died, Ascelin would immediately follow.

Magic definitely had to be involved.

But there was also something about the metal work with the kids. They grew. Like normal children would. And it didn't make sense; Ascelin couldn't crack the code of how and why.

But either way, upon glancing behind some old splintering crates and rubble for possible threats to himself or Pyro, satisfied with the results, he lowered the ro-boy to the floor.

"I'm going to find some things to make a fire. It's too cold tonight."

Pyro clicked on his hologram and feigned shivering, nodding through chattering teeth before shutting it back off and appearing emotionless as they did without the illusion up.

"You know what to do if you hear anything that's not me," Ascelin whispered before stepping away into the shadows.

He had a nice one going in no time. Small enough to attract as little attention as possible, large enough to do its job and keep them warm. And of course Pyro had helped since it was where he'd obtained his name.

Some of the Familiars were lucky enough to come with a certain perk that most didn't. Pyro could breathe fire. Others could shock you with contact or have a burst of super strength or speed. There were upgrades everywhere; you just had to watch out for the trapped ones with viruses that would kill the little ones.

He'd even seen one, one time, go invisible. At least that's what it had seemed. In reality, the ro-girl had just had an extra hologram that was dark mottled black and gray that allowed her to blend in well with the darkness of the alley she'd been hiding in while her master was away.

Ascelin had pretended to fall for the heist and kept moving quickly with Pyro in tow. He had no desire to steal the tech of the others like most people did though he could see their reasonings.

More tech for your own bot meant more safety and odds that they wouldn't die. And an upgrade stolen from one you kill guarantees that the upgrade didn't kill the small one, so it isn't bugged with anything potentially deadly for your own.

Pyro's eyes were bright again, illuminating the whole area as he looked around. Ascelin flinched when the child looked to him, it was the equivalent of shining a construction power-level flashlight in someone's face.

He shushed the kid again to dim it down easily, "Shut 'em off, Pyro. The fire light makes me nervous enough."

"Sorry."

"Just put up your hologram. It's okay," Ascelin closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall. Pyro's uncontrolled lights in his eyes had gotten them in trouble time and time again before. A weak wire he assumed. But he hadn't the time to look into it lately.

Pyro crawled through the flames and coals easily, uncaring. Waiting a moment to let his metal re-cool before cuddling up beside him. "How long we sleeping for tonight, Brother?"

"I'm not sure yet. Shut down," Ascelin answered, reflexively inching and resting an arm under the small robot's shoulders.

"But I'm not tired."

"Shut down."

"Fine," Pyro grumbled before a small _zap_ sounded from within him and his eyes went dark, body limp.

Ascelin didn't sleep. He twitched at any sound too loud, any movement that his mind played tricks with on him. Every shadow that the firelight caused. Every haunting stone and out of place shape in the darkness had him on edge.

Such was the way everyone felt at night – those who had the capability to feel anymore that was. This evening would do nothing but add to the discoloration of the rings under his eyes. Such was all it was.

But he was merely human. So despite himself, sleep eventually took him under its unknowing black depths of unconsciousness where anything could happen in both his dreams, and his or Pyro's defenseless figures…


	2. Chapter 2

"Big Brother! Wake up!"

He snapped to a sit and jumped to his feet immediately, ignoring the weight on his chest and accidentally dumping Pyro off him and crashing to the floor. "What?! What is it?"

"Ow!" Pyro's hologram was on, and he pouted up at him. "Its noon…you never sleep in till noon."

Ascelin sighed heavily both relieved and aggravated, rubbing at his temples. "You're right…but you should know better than to ever jump on me like that."

"Yeah, I know," he smiled and shrugged. "What we gon' do today, Brother?"

"I don't know. It's a much later start than I would've liked… Come on," he kicked at the black coals to be sure they were out before starting for the large hole in the wall once again.

Pyro following automatically behind him, pretending to be sneaking around with a gun like a futuristic assassin.

Today was much like the one before it, save perhaps the clouds. Yesterday had been overcast and depressingly gray. The skies shown blue without a hint of rain at the moment.

It didn't take long for them to reach the outermost suburbs of the city, the last line of buildings before forest took over. There was an inconspicuous garage placed amongst several others with several small holes and scorch marks that suggested its part in gun fights and burning attempts.

Satisfied after a quick glance that no one else was around, Ascelin opened it up and stepped inside to the darkest corner where a shape was covered up by an old, partly bug-eaten and weathered tarp.

Pulling it away revealed an old Harley. With minimum rust damage and only a couple cracks here and there along the mirrors and windshield. It wouldn't run. But Ascelin was looking to remedy that as soon as he was able to find the replacement parts it needed in at least decent shape.

Its exterior had been once painted expertly with designs of flames and skulls. What the young man could only describe as vortexes littering the frame and seat. But not much of them remained.

Kicking up the stand with some effort, he wheeled it out and started down the road. Pyro bounced after him, jumping up onto the seat easily as if walking the large hunk of metal wasn't hard enough.

Ascelin couldn't bring himself to kick the child off though, for the excitement on his face.

"Where we going to next, Brother?!"

"I don't know, kid. But I'm sick of this city, too much like the last."

The last city had been nearly exactly the same with the mercy of a few decent people who offered Ascelin some help and supplies. A rarity. Not many were selfless enough anymore to take into the consideration and well being of more than themselves.

But he'd shook his head at all of them and kept on his hurried way with Pyro. It was where he'd found this thing to begin with.

It had been stowed away in a less discrete garage than the ones he preferred to hide it in. There hadn't been anyone around and the sight of something so close to what they must've been way back when had set butterfly wings wild in his gut.

So he'd taken it, jogged it clumsily as all hell to where he was staying for the night a mere two blocks away. It had been a reckless, stupid thing to do. But he knew it'd pay off sooner or later, it had to.

The road wasn't so messed up out here as it was more dirt and dust than anyone preferred. A fallen decaying tree here and there but nothing as hazardous as the 'friendly' streets and avenues of town.

The late day seemed to drag with Ascelin's feet. Little talk aside from Pyro's jabbering mouth and even less time to stop for a break with the sun's head start on them. It was well evening by the time something new happened to break the boring rhythm of travel.

"Ascelin…"

He stopped instantly, looking to Pyro who had given up his seat on the bike to relieve his brother's aching arms and shoulders a little bit. "Hm?"

"Up over that small hill ahead. They're already aware of us too…"

"Are they still walking this way?"

"Uh-huh."

"How many?"

Pyro paused, taking a moment to climb instinctively up to Ascelin's shoulder before looking again, squinting his eyes as if to try and see them clearer through the hill itself. "Two…? Two masters and cousins…"

Ascelin nodded and hesitating a moment longer before pressing on. All ro-boys and girls referred to others like themselves as 'cousins' even if they'd obviously never met.

They came into view. A shaky, nervous woman with a little girl with bouncy curly hair and a scrawny man with a darker skinned boy. The girl seemed about six, the boy a striking twelve, perhaps thirteen.

The man and woman both locked eyes with Ascelin at the same time. He didn't like how the stranger sporting the boy didn't look back away as his lady friend had. The male child smiled particularly mischievously at the small in comparison Pyro from where he clung to his master's back.

Ascelin hushed a whimper from him quietly, they were passing eachother now on opposite sides of the road. Then he saw what he'd been waiting for.

Just as either company were about to leave one another's peripheral vision, the scrawny man pivoted on his heals sporting a rusty long shiv as his ro-boy rolled hastily away.

The woman grabbed up her girl and disappeared startled into the woods around them and out of sight as Ascelin a bit less than gently dropped the bike.

He dodged the first slash, then the second. Being sure to never give an opening at Pyro, even if that dull blade would do him no real harm.

The man laughed in what seemed like an insured victory and lunged with the sad knife again, aiming to stab him right through his heart. Ascelin threw himself out of the way at the last moment, letting him impale a tree he'd backed up against instead before round-house kicking the guy square in the back of the head.

Scrawny hit the tree hard, his head bouncing off it a couple times from the brutal impact but amazingly he managed to brush off the spinning that his gaze must've been doing as he pulled a metal rod that had been strapped to his side instead.

Ascelin kicked up a hefty enough branch and waited, anticipating his next move and ignoring Pyro's soft whimpering next to his ear on his shoulder.

The man fixed his stance like an old batter and swung heartily, an attempt that would have snapped the wood in two had he attempted to parry it. Instead he'd dropped and dodged, not owning the speed required for what came next.

Before he could find his feet, the metal pole found his right knee directly. He felt a piercing _crack_ then and it took him a moment too long of swimming through the fog in his eyes for him to realize that his second knee was smashed too.

He screamed, what pulled him back into his head was Pyro's cry and tugging. Tugging on his neck and shoulders, another moment and Ascelin realized that the ro-boy aligned to Scrawny was trying to tear Pyro out from under him and away.

Ascelin almost swung his own makeshift weapon, that he'd somehow managed to hold onto, at the kid. Before thinking better and just batting him aside and away. There was an odd look to the boy's eyes, a look Ascelin knew too well.

No cousin wanted to hurt the others. It was only under the demand of their masters that they did so or they felt so. But none of them truly wanted to bring harm or death.

Adrenaline coursing through his veins, ignoring the searing in his legs from his knees, Ascelin managed to catch the pole as Scrawny tried to bring it down on them again and roll, twisting the metal out his grip and managing his feet.

Throwing the metal rod far into the woods and keeping the branch, he swung this time. Catching the thin man by the neck and sending him to the gravel dirt ground, rasping for air.

Then he smiled.

And Ascelin remembered the shaky woman.

Just as Pyro let loose a screaming cry.

And Ascelin felt a pain deep within him, his eyes were going from foggy to absolutely hazed and his mind was swimming about in a whirl, trying to clear and escape the blankets that currently seemed all too tempting.

_Lay down, forget about it. Everything's okay. It always is._

_Let someone else handle the hardships for once. You've earned your fair share of rest._

_That's it…just close your eyes._

His lids flew open and he spun and surprised the lady and suddenly, the shiv was in his hand. And he was lifting it, and her eyes were widening, and why wasn't he dead? Didn't she just kill Pyro? And an angry yell escaped his own throat as he brought it down straight into her head and blood spurted.

And another heart wrenching sob sounded as it showered over them and Scrawny was again on his feet. He was aware of crying, the preteen ro-boy standing horrified to his left with tears streaming down his face. Putting his arms and hands out as if to scream no.

But it was too late.

Scrawny rolled away to his feet and lunged. And Ascelin did the only thing he could through his hyped up state and held the blade out. And there.

Scrawny met Ascelin's eyes and there was an understanding that hadn't been there before, now, with a rusty piece of junk puncturing his heart. And he fell.

Ascelin let him fall and watched as the dark skinned boy fell in sync. Fell in sync, eyes going out with the hologram. And the metal that acted as his skin…shrank in on itself. And the glass and dead lights that were his big round eyes, shrunk to normal and almond shaped.

And he breathed, sitting back up completely normal and human. He stood up, shaking, and drunkenly stumbled over to the bushes where he pulled something in hiding out. The ro-girl.

She wasn't so lucky. She was out. Junk metal and shut down forever.

The boy sobbed, holding her to himself before looking again to Ascelin. "Th-thank you…"

Then Ascelin realized the trembling he seemed to be doing himself, a warmness on his back. Clammy hands squeezing his shoulders.

Pyro was still with him, whimpering as much as ever.

The woman with the shiv had missed. Having plunged it into the tender flesh of Ascelin's shoulder instead of Pyro's head. "B-brother?"

"Shh," Ascelin muttered, relief flooding through him that somewhat dulled the pain before he again looked to the other boy and approached him, stepping over the fresh corpses.

The boy froze, terror adding to the grief in his green eyes as this stranger and adult stood before him. Ascelin did nothing for a moment until the child started to breathe again, slowly, ever so carefully resting a hand on his head to gently stroke back his hair before taking the ro-girl and laying her down.

Opening the panel that could only be opened upon their version of death. He pulled out the disk containing her soul, walking ten paces away into the woods, and buried it before returning to his bike and lifting it from the grime and ground.

The boy had already disappeared; as was probably for the best anyways.

"Brother? You're…bleeding…"

"I know, Pyro. We'll take care of it soon."

He continued to whine and cling and shake and as always, Ascelin felt awful, terrible for it. The children didn't deserve this kind of life. The men and woman alike didn't deserve this kind of life.

The bike seemed way heavier than it had been before. Probably due to the hole in his right shoulder. He'd need to find someone even slightly resembling a doctor to get it checked out – definite infection was inevitable otherwise for how nasty the thing had been.

His legs were starting to bother him more and more too. Walking would prove a near impossible task when his adrenaline finally faded out, let alone haul this thing with them. And town seemed suddenly so far…

He sighed. "Get down, Pyro. We need to set up a camp."

"What? Out here?" he looked like he just got smacked in the face and insulted. "Are you crazy, Brother?"

"No, but I am getting weaker. Now do as I say."

Pyro hesitated but climbed down and started gathering sticks for a fire while Ascelin struggled to push his bike off the trail and through the overgrown brush to hide it. Satisfied with some thicker bushes and brambles, he lowered it down beside them and with some effort shoved it at least partly under.

Pyro came over with a decent armload as Ascelin prepared a place to burn them, and nearly collapsed when he could finally sit down. Pyro set them all in place and crawled away before looking back at it, aiming, and letting loose a stream of orange flame that caught instantly.

"Shoot… Pyro, I think I dropped my jacket on the trail during the fight. Get it for me?" he didn't dare try to move again himself.

He didn't need to. Pyro disappeared then returned, easily as that. Holding out the bandage wrap that Ascelin had already been aiming for anyway.

"Can I help, Brother?"

"Sure. Let me sit up…" he used his left arm to get up to reclining and Pyro set to work, knowing already what to do. He doused the bandage with a small bottle of disinfecting solution and alcohol that were in Ascelin's other pockets before wrapping him up way better than children should know how to.

Ascelin pounded the ground a little and punched a tree, scraping up his knuckles as the deep wound pulsed and burned.

Pyro ignored him and put everything away before crawling over and laying down.

"Brother?

"Hm."

"Where we going?"

"By the looks of it now, Daidil, Pyro. I need to get this more expertly looked at."

Pyro stared up at him a moment longer, snuggled into the crevice of under his good arm and against his side as if for warmth. Nodding, he didn't even bother turning the hologram off before shutting down, sleeping.

Ascelin watched around for a little while but not near so long as the night before, feeling a little feverish from the blood loss and pain. Quickly, mercifully, sleep lapped him deep under its curtains and waves.


	3. Chapter 3

Pyro was aroused late that night to a series of clicks and beeps far too high pitched for human senses to catch. The way the sequence went, Pyro could tell that a cousin close by was mourning. Really close by…

Hesitating for about a fraction of a second, he got to his hands and knees and crawled slowly away from Ascelin; wry of leaves and twigs. Ascelin didn't wake. That was both relieving and worrying at once but he wasn't going to think about it now.

He didn't detect another master nearby, but it was harder to tell some times than others. Still crawling, he made it out to the road. And sure enough there down it, leaning over the body of the empty ro-girl, was another ro-girl perhaps his own age, crying without tears since her hologram wasn't on.

Cautiously, Pyro let out a single small chirping click himself.

She stopped crying for a moment and turned, glowing yellow eyes scanning the darkness. Their lights were hushed down low but her radars pointed his whereabouts to her easily in the darkness, their gazes met.

They stared at each other, a good few minutes, until finally she clicked back. And that was it, they were in each other's faces, only a couple inches apart, chirping and clicking and beeping and gesturing slightly as numbers and words flew through their eyes, Pyro having put his own hologram down now too.

They were Sharing. Telling their own stories at the exact same time, letting their scanners and processors do the deciphering and reading for them in complete understanding as they both continued to 'talk' and tell their own side of their own tales.

Their whole lives since waking up bonded to their masters, since they couldn't remember a thing at all before then. And every detail there was to tell about it.

Her name, Pyro found, was Brooklyn. Brook for short. And her master was her real biological older sister by the name of Trish. Who was currently in the woods somewhere burying the corpses Ascelin had so carelessly left there and told Brook to stay put and cry out if anyone came along.

Instead, Brook noticed the poor gone ro-girl in the side bushes and couldn't help herself but to investigate and mourn a little herself for the loss of someone they all felt to be as close as family.

Mech-kids loved to Share. It was something they'd do all the time if they could. It was bonding. It was security. It was opportunity, a sadly rare one at that.

And then _TING!_ And Pyro found himself sprawled out on the ground a few feet away from where he'd just been. His vision was static, but through it he could make out a new form that hadn't been there before.

A woman, sporting what seemed to be a straight shiny branch. Or a metal pole that was thrown earlier…

She stood over Brook, at the ready, eyes scanning around them for a worse threat than a small probably incapacitated ro-boy now. Brook cried out and ran over to him; put her hands on either side of his face and turning his head so Pyro was looking into her own open eyes.

"Sister! No! He is _good._ And his Brother needs help!"

"Pyro!" Ascelin burst from the bushes, holding his head in a massive migraine and adrenaline apparently pumping again. He glared deathly at the lady there after looking fearfully over to Pyro on the ground. "Call your girl away from him. Now."

"Brooklyn, here," the lady, Trish, murmured and Brook obeyed.

Ascelin took her place, lifting Pyro up instead and investigating the large dent in his head. "What do you see?"

"Fuzzy…"

"Damnit," Ascelin lifting him around to his back and Pyro clung. Turning his eyes glaring on the girls. "Who the hell are you?"

"I should be asking you the same thing. Are you the one who slaughtered those other two?"

"Were they your friends?"

"Hardly."

"Then yes," Ascelin admitted. "They attacked me and Pyro. I defended. Easy as that."

"And you need help."

"What?"

"Where are you hurt? Take off your shirt."

"What?!" Ascelin couldn't believe this. "No. You didn't answer me."

She sighed, aggravated, and lowered her backpack to the ground. "Name's Trish. And I'm sorry for the migraine. But your bot startled me – being so close to my Brook."

"My _bot_? It's Pyro. And I'm Ascelin."

"Very nice to meet you. Now remove your shirt."

"Why?"

She rolled her eyes. "Because I can fix whatever's wrong with you and your Pyro if you let me."

"Why should I?"

"Because I feel bad!" Trish was kneeled down now, digging through her supplies.

"Brother?" Pyro whispered.

"Shush," Ascelin muttered, slowly, hesitantly obeying. If this would save him from a trip to Daidil, then he couldn't necessarily complain. The town was closest, but in the wrong direction than the way he wanted to go.

"Alright, Brook, give me some light?"

The ro-girl's eyes instantly lit up the immediate area and Trish approached Ascelin confidently and easily. Following the bandage around to…she looked at Pyro, he was in her way. Pyro whimpered and clung closer to his brother's back, causing his shoulder further pain.

Ascelin inhaled a small sharp hiss and held his breath from there. "Get down…Pyro."

He obeyed, and Trish un-bandaged the wound. Sure enough, it was already looking irritated and pus filled with infection.

"Ew…"

"No commentary needed, thanks. Can we…sit down?"

"Why?"

"That metal rod you dropped over by your bag had the pleasure of meeting both my knees personally earlier…"

"Oh…well then, yes. Sit down."

He did and she followed, kneeling behind him. Applying some foul smelling gunk to the hole on the back of his shoulder. "Brook? Water bottle?"

The girl obeyed, bringing her one from the bag.

Nothing happened for a moment. All Ascelin felt was a bunch of sizzling and numbness. "What are you doing…?"

"That stuff I used is foaming. Pushing all the dirt and grime that was in there out. It might start to burn in a moment; let me know when that happens."

A moment went by, "Now."

Trish nodded and washed the rest out with water, being sure she got everything before applying a new, even smellier solution to his injury and rewrapping it. "There you go. Now for your legs…"

"Nuh-uh. You've done enough," he frowned at her as she stood and went again to her pack. "Be on your way. I need to patch up Pyro."

"With…what exactly?"

He paused, silently cursing himself for not being more prepared.

"That's what I thought," Trish came back over again, looking at his darkly bruised knees. "This will hurt. Bite down on this cloth, not your lip," he hardly at time to place it in his mouth before she grabbed and felt about his knees.

His jaws clamped down hard and he shouted through the fabric and his teeth, face flushing and knuckles whitening.

"Hmm… Looks like they were both cracked pretty good, but not actually shattered or broke. So that's good. What you'll need are pain killers and muscle relaxants as not to lock up on you when you try to walk. One moment…" she went to her pack once again as Ascelin death glared the back of her head, breathing heavily.

She returned, offering a single blue pill and the remainder of the water bottle. "Here."

He glowered.

She rolled her eyes and held them closer. "Take. Them. Now."

He did, only because he wasn't in the mood to fight, and relief almost instantly flooded his body. Beginning in his aching head then down.

"Better?"

He stared at her.

She held her hands up in a gesture for peace. "I'll let you use the tools you need to fix Pyro. I know you wouldn't trust me with that much. Alright?"

She didn't wait for his answer, handing him everything straight from her deep pockets.

Wordlessly, he pulled Pyro to him and opened the panel closest the large indent. Pyro twitching and flinching occasionally away, hating the feeling. Claiming that it actually kinda hurt but Ascelin didn't know.

He worked the indent out as gently but hastily as he could before he even attempted to repair the static and fuzzy color modules, shape detectors, heat sensors, and night vision. The actual lights in his eyes came last, the glows in them were very dim to hint broken, not dying.

He unscrewed the tiny bolts holding the bulletproof glass panels there from the inside before carefully popping them out and replacing the multi-energy supplied bulb. The indentation in the side if his head had pressed in and cracked it pretty good.

Upon putting everything back together and closing him up, Pyro was as good as new. He jumped away, Brook giggling at him, and almost immediately they started Sharing again.

Trish sighed as she took her tools back and put everything away in their designated places. "So…Ascelin? I'm sorry about that…"

He shrugged. "Eh…you righted it. Don't worry about it."

"Thanks," she smiled, and he looked at her for the first time.

She was a curvy lady with full lips, a dancer's hips, and large, obvious chest. Her clothes weren't very modest, but they'd sport flexibility and speed Ascelin knew. She was caramel colored and long, dark wavy hair fell about her shoulders, held down by dust and what had been the day's heat. Her eyes were a complimenting hazel that wasn't particularly common for these parts. The rest of her features were hearty, but not unpleasantly so.

"Honey…my eyes are up here."

Ascelin's gaze shot up to meet hers immediately, and he wasn't sure if the slight blush on his face was from the shame of looking where he shouldn't have been or the ignorance of only now realizing that she'd been talking, and he hadn't heard a single word before then.

"…sorry."

She laughed easily, "Oh, you poor thing. It's been pretty hard getting close enough to a lady that doesn't want to kill you, hasn't it?"

He felt his cheeks go hotter and quickly scanned his mind for a topic change. "Uh…you were saying?"

Trish gave him a look that informed him that she knew what he did just there, but would humor him anyways. "I was asking you where you're heading."

"Right…um…I don't precisely know. Somewhere that direction now that I'm saved an attempting, agonizing trip to Daidil," he gestured in the eastern-ish way and she nodded slowly.

"You're not much of a man for plans, are you?"

He paled and shook his head.

She smiled again, "Well, alright then. Me and Brooklyn seem to be heading back the way you came from so…fair travels, friend?"

He nodded.

She grabbed up her bag after digging through it once more, handing him a generous baggy of those blue pills and a bottled water. "One a day until you don't need 'em. Then keep them somewhere handy for the next time you decide to be a guy."

He stiffly took them with a small, thoughtful nod. "Thank you… Not many people like your type in the world anymore, Miss Trish."

She smiled. "Like _us_, anymore, Mr. Ascelin. I have a stirring suspicion that you'd of done the same for me. Come on, Brooklyn. We gotta go."

Pyro waved goodbye as the little girl skipped after her sister, smiling and laughing. Ascelin was more silent, not admitting out loud to anyone about how she was wrong. He probably wouldn't have done a thing short of ending her misery. And even than probably not even for fear of whether Brook would shut down or not…


	4. Chapter 4

They woke again and were on their way, Ascelin having taken another of the meds before attempting to drag his Harley up out of the shrubs. The thorns of some of the dryer, deader things scraping and catching his skin.

The fire was gone and they headed on down the road, Pyro quiet and apparently groggy this morning. Even too lazy to click on his face and image. "Brother?"

"What?"

"I'm hungry…"

"We'll get something soon," Ascelin found himself thinking about Trish, and that handy backpack she'd dug up from somewhere. He'd have to keep an eye out for something like it.

"We gon' reach anywhere today?"

"Depends on how much complaining you do rather than walking," the older answered, pressing on determinedly.

But even now as they continued and Pyro groaned in complaint, rounding a corner, a large group of people were heading this way. Ascelin stopped and stared.

Not only was it unnerving, seeing so many others at once, it was rare. People were common everywhere, honestly, but not in unity together such as this group were. There just wasn't enough trust anywhere for that.

There were about seven of them, and a growing dread, panic, and vague fear starting to make his heart pound as the realization hit that it was far too late to hide. So he stood there on the side of the road with the motorcycle, lowering an arm that Pyro grabbed onto as a first handhold to climb up to his back.

The eldest man of the group noticeably put himself between Ascelin and the others of his comrades as they all slowly halted to a stop as well, looking Ascelin and the giant contraption he wheeled with him over skeptically.

His dread grew.

The man cleared his throat, "Young man…"

Ascelin nodded.

"You aware of what you got there?"

Ascelin tensed and nodded again.

"…calm down, son. I intend no harm."

"Big crowd…what do you want then? Move along."

The man put his hands up in a gesture of peace. "T'is alright, lad. We're a family that managed to keep together through everything and I have a simple wondering about the way you came."

"Hm?" he couldn't hide his surprise and reflexively, he looked them all over. Sure enough, there were resemblances amongst them and the kids. He puzzled the pieces together simply.

Five of them, this man being the father, with a daughter for a ro-girl. The lady there, the mother, with another ro-girl youngin. And in her arms…a baby boy. Not even a year old and clearly not yet mechanized. Family's always seemed to have a crazy hope for avoiding the inevitable by running away and always moving.

The other two, a man and his mech-boy, actual cousins perhaps.

"Daidil? You been that way recently?"

"Was close to it where I sheltered myself from the night…"

"Is it true? It burned to cinders and ashes now?"

"What?" Ascelin's gaze went back to this man. "Burned down?"

"Then you haven't heard a thing then… that's disheartening."

"I'm sorry I can't help. But where has this rumor originated?"

"Over be yonder the hills and round the bends, through the woods and above the streams."

Ascelin blinked at him. Clearly this family was made up of country bums. "…right."

"In other words, happened awhile ago to get word to so many places. I'm surprised you know not a thing…"

He nodded, understanding that a little better. He'd been in that damned city searching out parts for the damned bike for a couple months. Way longer than he liked to stay anywhere, but he'd thought it was his best shot.

And it wasn't like he talked to anyone on a regular basis aside from Pyro, so of course he didn't know the latest gossip. "As I said, stayed near there last night. Nothing seemed out of place…"

"Alright, guess we'll really just have to find out fer ourselves. Thanks for yer time anyway, son," he nodded before him and his family continued along their merry way.

Not meaning to be a creeper, Ascelin stared at the normal baby boy for as long as he was in his line of vision before looking to Pyro as he jumped from his back and clicked on the hologram, smiling up at him. "Sounds exciting! Let's go back to Daidil, Brother!"

"No," Ascelin pressed on.

Pyro whined again in complaint. "Why…?"

"Too dangerous, none of our business, and quite frankly, I don't care."

"No fair…"

"Neither is life."

"You always use that…"

"You always give me a reason to."

Pyro 'hmphed' to himself and crossed his arms, continuing to pout on.

…

The next couple days were more fortunate with no one else on the road. Ascelin hunted and fished in the woods and small streams with makeshift traps and poles he'd gotten quite well at throwing together for just their purposes.

They reached the remains of Welton by midmorning the next dawn. Remains because there had especially never been much to begin with.

It was a sad small village that really could've been the magical definition of 'Once Upon A Time…' back in the day. The rock and stone cabins and small homes long crumbled and smashed, broken into and stripped of any possible valuables.

It had been an old folk's ideal place to live quietly. What would be near enough the city if one could drive but not so crowded and buzzing.

_Quant. _The word filled Ascelin's mind and he almost scoffed. Nothing was quant anymore, not that he'd seen in his comparably short life anyway.

Now it was shady. Too small to attract any real attention and questions but those who needed a 'fix' would recognize the signs and realize they'd probably hit their version of a jackpot.

He kept to the more unused alleys and streets of town until reaching the forest on the other side. Hiding his Harley yet again amongst the thorns of shrubs and bush, he lifted Pyro up and headed back in.

It didn't take too much terribly longer before discovering a figure, laying out on the ground with his back to an old wall of a ruin and his eyes dilated and partially rolled back into his head.

His Familiar a sad little puppy-eyed ro-girl with dirty blond hair and ribs sticking out of her skeletal and practically bare front. She crouched, cowering, behind some rotting crates and boxes nearby down the way, hoping not to be seen herself while her master was in a fit.

Ascelin pretended not to have noticed her and laid a hard kick to the drug addict's gut; enough to bruise, not to kill. He coughed and flailed rather hopelessly, managing only to drag his pathetic self closer to the wall before focusing only a little more and looking up to Ascelin's face. "Hey… watch where yer steppin' man…" he was missing a few teeth and spit flew as he slurred his words.

"How much can I sell these for?" Ascelin inquired, holding out a small baggie with approximately half of the blue pills he'd acquired from Trish about half a week ago.

The addict's gaze came to focus almost immediately and he swiped the bag, examining its contents intently. "Wow…who's yer supplier, man? These is the _good_ stuff…"

"How much can I get for them," Ascelin demanded again.

"15 shards."

"Bullshit," he snatched the baggie back and turned with Pyro, starting away.

"No! Wait wait wait wait!" the addict stood, hands out in a desperate gesture. "Just wait, come with me, I can give you more than anyone else here. Honest."

Ascelin crossed his arms. "Impress me."

"Come on," he started away and Ascelin shifted Pyro's weight on his back before following. Not looking directly at but keeping well aware of the poor mech-girl behind them as she silently followed a good 20 or so paces back.

They pretty quickly rounded a few corners and ended up inside one of the few two story structures. The drug man went to the stairs and paused at the bottom step before kneeling and tearing it up.

It came easily and there revealed a nice sized chest, partially buried for how long it had been hidden there. He opened it before stepping aside for Ascelin to view the contents.

Hundreds of shards – small triangular metal-like shapes laid neatly within the chest nearly to the top. Ascelin kept back a whistle at the wondering of how an addict acquires so much money and why he couldn't just go buy the 'good stuff' from someone himself.

The sickly man saw the questions and only chose to respond to the latter, "Stockers don't got the stuff you got, friend. Only top rate medics and nurses do. And they only sell to those who need it for reasons that I...don't have. Bastards."

Ascelin thought the man was about to lose another rotten tooth on his last spitted syllable. "Right… Well. How much?"

"For that whole bag, the whole thing."

"What?" he wondered, shocked. Clearly this man was too desperate.

"Those pills is everything I'd ever need," he smiled what must have been his idea of kindly but showed off too much of his decaying and bloodied gums.

"3/4's is my price then."

The addict looked surprised. That was a wealthy cost, but he'd expected to lose the whole thing.

Ascelin stayed solemn, unblinking before pointing behind himself to the little girl who had been peaking inside from around the corner of the doorway. "I won't leave her in poverty…even if you don't do a thing for her with that money. The rags she wears won't be on my conscience."

"Er…right. What do you have to carry all the shards in?"

Ascelin walked over and picked up the chest easily, dumping a generous fourth back into the dirt and vicinity of inside the old stair before closing it back up and holding it under his arm. "Thinking this'll do just fine."

The drug man faltered a whole minute before shooting out a shaking hand. "Alright, fine. Now gimme the goods."

Ascelin dropped the baggie in his skeletal palm and the excuse of a man was gone out the door instantly before Ascelin could've even had a chance to change his mind. As he too walked out the door, he witnessed a last glimpse of blond hair disappear around a corner as she tried to keep up with her ecstatic master.

He walked on. "You okay, Pyro?" he'd already noticed his odd silence but hadn't dared address it before now.

Pyro was pouting big time and didn't answer him.

"Pyro."

"What?"

"Speak."

"Woof."

Ascelin stopped and looked back at him, an eyebrow raised.

Pyro sheepishly looked down, his voice soft. "Sorry, Brother…"

"What's the matter?"

"You just helped a bad Master's fatal addiction… Why couldn't you have sold them to a good Master who's a doctor or medicine man?"

"Because they wouldn't have offered near so much or even bought at all, paranoid of where I'd gotten the damn stuff to begin with. And that little girl is as good as dead anyways. Odds are he'll overdose on his first try with these and she'll be spared of him forever, either way it goes and happens."

Pyro continued to pout. Though he knew that as always, his Brother's way of viewing was both logical and sadly, but probably right. "Poor little cousin…"

"Poor cousin," Ascelin agreed, more gently for Pyro's sake and mind. He pressed on, well aware of the small, barely audible whimpers coming from his back as Pyro mourned the soon to be loss.


	5. Chapter 5

Getting to the main road of town and following that down back towards where his bike and the rest of the pills were hidden amongst his jacket pockets, something felt astray. Off about the air, suddenly.

Goose bumps taking up the extent of his arms, he hurried along faster. "Pyro…?"

"Yeah, Brother?"

"Analysis."

Pyro instantly quit pouting and scanned around, shutting off his hologram to easier see. "They're surrounding us, Brother…"

"Who?"

"That addict and his friends."

"Damnit," Ascelin spat as he started to jog. "Any of them already ahead?"

"Uh-huh, two Brother. Two Masters and cousins."

Ascelin cursed their luck once more; his legs were starting to hurt. "How many others, Pyro? Spit it out!"

Pyro whimpered at the tone being used, "I don't know, I can't tell!"

Ascelin cussed a third time and sped up even more into a race. Skidding to a stop when that little blond girl almost literally appeared right before him, puppy-eyed and shaking.

Barely refraining from running her down, he glared as the toothless man stepped out too. Smiling his kindly grin, "Hey there, man… I gone and done some thinking."

"How peculiar... I didn't know the scum at your level were capable of the action."

The addict laughed, "Oh we can be…when we want somethin' that we ain't got…"

Ascelin shifted Pyro up higher, keeping an arm back around him as others stepped out from both in front and behind. "And what exactly, would that be?"

"More," he tried to beam again as he held up the baggie. "For me and all my friends here… Emily you needy little rat, get over 'ere!" spit flew as the little blond girl still cowering before Ascelin yelped and ran, obeying her Master instantly.

Ascelin really frowned then. "I already sold you what I had…"

"Nah, I don't gonna believe that… We really ain't so dumb."

Shifting Pyro once more, Ascelin sighed and lowered the chest with ¾ of shards down. "Here, take back your money and let us go. I really don't have time for this."

"That's okay; we got 'nough time for the lot of us here! Now hand over the goods, _all_ of them! Or I'll see to it your little 'chine there gets it!" the addict laughed, that tooth Ascelin had been waiting for to fall out finally flying loose and hitting the dusty, cracked pavement.

"Pyro…" Ascelin whispered as he slowly lifted the chest back up, the others beginning to get uncomfortably close to him.

"Ascelin…?" Pyro whimpered, clicking on his hologram. His eyes wide and watering as his grip around the young man's shoulders tightened.

"Scorch 'em…"

And like that within a couple seconds, Pyro faced his head out and took a deep breath as Ascelin pivoted on his heels. Releasing the stream of flame from Pyro's lips at all of the closest men and women threatening them.

Those lucky enough to have avoided the fire now watched, wide-eyed as their comrades screeched and ran, fell or flailed. A couple of them actually were smart enough to stop, drop, and roll. But even that did no good for the kind of flames Pyro had used at his disposal.

Ascelin had closed off his mind and eyes as that meant the little ones too, cried and could feel the burn. It was a slow, agonizing death that he only looked to as a strict last resort; when he was really fearing for Pyro's life.

Out of the six Master's caught and dead, only two of the children – two girls – returned to humanity. One helped the other up and they ran away together, tears in their eyes, holding hands.

The gang paid them no mind as attentions slowly returned to Ascelin.

Toothless guy slowly smiled once again, to catch the attention of the remaining seven others including himself, "Won't that certainly be a plus to the goods. A up-grader like that'll be good to get all the stuff we gon' be needing…"

"Oh really? Let's see you get close enough to take it," Ascelin prompted, holding Pyro closer to his back.

"Won't have to," he responded as Ascelin only then noticed, little blond Emily right behind him out the corners of his vision, on Pyro's blind side since he'd been distracted by others as well.

The scrawny ro-girl with tears in her eyes touched Ascelin's leg and almost instantaneously, he was seeing stars as electricity shot up and through to his mind. He was hardly even aware of Pyro's piercing cry right beside his ear as his body seemed magnetized upright to the ground, the waves passing through contact to Pyro too.

Things had been starting to really blotch out when finally, she'd cried and pulled her hot hand away. Crawling out of the way as he fell on his face, leaving Pyro rolling off and exposed, static-eyed as well, the boy well overloaded with too much power.

The remaining slowly started to smile and laugh as it seemed their victory was well won. Toothless practically danced his way over and grabbed Pyro up, throwing him to the others as he rolled Ascelin over to his side and then back.

Searching him down everywhere, every pocket on him and in his boots, he glowered. "Goods gotta be here some place, I know they do…" grabbing Ascelin's jaw next and forcing his mouth open, checking about in there, he growled and stood up after.

"Where they at?!" he stomped down good on his front, right in the core, knocking what shallow breath he had from him.

Ascelin coughed and gagged something terrible and only reflexively managed to hold his stomach in his arms. Opening his eyes, looking up at him but not seeing. Everything spinning and blending together far too much for his liking, he coughed a little more.

"Start talkin'!" Toothless demanded again, resting a dirty old sneaker up on the incapable young man's throat and putting mild pressure. Enough to make uncomfortable, not to choke.

Ascelin spat out a bit of blood, it running down the sides of his face. Trying to form words in both mind and throat as the dirty old shoe started to put actual pressure upon it. "Pyro…?"

The others were taking a crowbar to the ro-boy's panels after having hit him good and dented in his head to shut down his hologram. Pyro was still helpless to do anything though the safety mechanisms on his body had successfully switched on.

They were having a hard time prying him open.

Toothless sighed and crouched down beside him, "Look pal, I like you. And all I personally need is the rest of them pills. Start talkin' now, and I may even get your bot back for ya…"

Ascelin glowered more and spit next right into the addict's face. He flung back on his ass and wiped it away, frowning. "Alright then, you had yer chance," lifting the heavy chest up over Ascelin's head, he moved to bring it down…

"Hold on, sugar!" was all he heard next as his unfocused eyes fluttered closed.

And then someone gagging, a body falling, a low moan and whine.

Then Ascelin sent hurtling through the air, or so it seemed an induced feeling of vertigo. Landing again and sent into a roll, someone catching him with little hands and stopping his forced movement with a small audible sound of displeasure.

Everything still very much so spinning even behind his closed lids, his limbs sluggish but slowly he was starting to gain feeling through them again. Almost regrettably, everything hurt and ached.

All he could hear were shouts and cusses then as he felt being dragged next, a couple _cracks_ as it seemed someone picked up a weapon. Or a crowbar.

"Impudent bitch!" someone – Toothless addict? – screeched before it seemed something was done to again silence his pain-sodden voice too.

"Manners…" someone else murmured in the silence that followed. "Learn 'em or don't speak near my little sister. Oh…come 'ere, pumpkin…"

"Brother…?"

Ascelin wasn't sure how he was hearing the murmurings a good ten feet away now, it could only be adrenaline allowing it over the ringing and pounding in his mind. "Pyro…?"

He could hear the footsteps of someone quickly making their way over and kneeling down beside him then. "He's right here, honey."

"Trish…?"

"Yep. Now keep still, I'm settling you and your little brother right beside each other so I can rummage through my pack…"

Ascelin listened as she did just that, confusion slowly flooding up. "How have you…caught up to us so…fast?" his words heavily slurred, inducing more vertigo as he tried only once to open his eyes.

"Sweetie, that bike I found with your jacket – which Brook sensed Pyro's energy signature on, slows you down a mere smidgeon in your travels. Now shush."

"Energy signature…?" he murmured then, drunkenly. "His soul verve…?"

"Yes, she got it off him when they'd Shared. Now quiet yourself, darlin'."

"Brother…?" Pyro muttered weakly.

"You too, lil one…" Trish said, applying yet another salve across Ascelin's forehead, thankfully this one not so malodorous. "Your little boy's got his emergency defenses on, I won't be able to get past 'em till you either do it or tell me how."

Brook was sitting on her knees with Pyro's head propped up, tears in her eyes as she looked at him. "They going to be okay, Sister?"

"They'll be fine, Brooky…"

Ascelin's head was steadily clearing from the odd gunk applied to it. Daring to open his eyes once more, his vision already not near so swaying. Sitting up, Trish put a hand to his chest.

"Take it slow," she ordered.

Obeying, he sat and pulled Pyro up onto his lap. His own head still pounding a bit but from a more familiar pain, the hurt of knowing his little brother was injured rather than himself barbequed…

Putting a hand to the little ro-boy's head, the lights in Pyro's eyes blazed with the release of his distress locks. Shushing them back down and taking the tools offered to him by Brook this time, he got into and again repaired his own poor little mech-child.

Pyro clicked on his hologram afterwards and blinked a couple times, rubbing at his eyes to try and prevent them from watering before looking back to Ascelin. Having failed, he hugged to him tightly, softly sobbing, "Brother…"

"Sh, shh, I know Pyro. I'm sorry…" Ascelin closed his eyes as he pulled the little boy up closer, hugging him too before allowing his own gaze over to the scene of addicts.

The remaining seven unburned lay there, not dead. Merely rendered unconscious. And seeing Emily… "Trish, kill her Master."

The darker lady's eyes widened a touch, "Sugar, I admit I thought a bit better of you than that… I'm no murderer. If you feel so vengeful, do your own dirty work."

"I don't want her dead," he snapped lightly back in response, frowning instantly. "But I know people like her Master… Whence he wakes, he'll blame this whole thing on her."

Trish hesitated. "…No, I can't do it. I can give you the means, Ascelin but…I could never take that risk on her…"

Slowly, Ascelin nodded and regained his feet. Sliding Pyro down slowly unto his and facing him towards Brooklyn. The ro-girl instantly hugging to the boy next before they started Sharing to cheer one another up; Ascelin looked to Trish.

She offered him something within a syringe. "Make it quick, whole thing, right in his heart for an instant kill…"

Tapping the contents within the small vile, he gave the woman a look that admitted he'd be scared to meet her in a dark alley at night before he turned and approached the thoroughly unaware and comatose guy on the ground.

About to stab the needle in, a small robotic hand caught his own wrist and he paused. Looking down at Emily, her hologram glitching and flashing on and off a few more times before giving out completely. Leaving her a scrawnier, smaller Pyro-look-alike.

"Please…"

Ascelin knew there'd be tears in her eyes if there could be.

"I'm afraid…"

Brook came over then, leaving Pyro behind and hugging to a crouching Trish's side. Selfless Brooklyn offered the smaller ro-girl a hand up and hesitantly, she released Ascelin and took it.

"Don't be," Brook smiled. "You could be an angel!" she added matter-of-factly.

When Emily tilted her head in what could only be a confused expression, Brook giggled and squeezed her hand assuringly. "And angels fly! Haven't you ever dreamed of flying?"

"Uh-huh…" Emily admitted, her image coming back on with a small smile as she wiped a tear on her cheek away. "With big pretty wings…?"

"Yeah!" Brook beamed again and jumped around with her in a little circle. "And no more pain, ever again."

"…Okay," Emily slightly bit her lip, keeping Brook's hand and turning slowly back towards Ascelin. Nodding with a new-found courage, "And mister…? I'm sorry…"

"Don't be…" he murmured back, a touch starry-eyed at having witnessed that little scene. And before any more thoughts could come, could maybe make him consider changing his mind, as Toothless's eyes shot open…

Ascelin stabbed him, right in the heart, and injected every last drop of the serum within. The addict didn't even have the time to take in a full gasp before it was done.

Brook caught Emily as she whimpered and dropped, holding the littler one in her own small arms. A look of sorrow but acceptance coming to her face, she lowered her down onto her back softly on the ground.

The lights of her eyes were out.

Brook smiled then, "Great job, cousin… You'_re_ an angel…"


	6. Chapter 6

Ascelin wasted no time in retrieving Emily's soul disk and tucking it away safely in a pocket to bury later before grabbing up the chest with the shards under an arm and returning to Trish's side with Brook. Scooping up a still-shaky Pyro next.

Poor boy had taken about as much as he could handle today.

He looked to Trish as she stood too, brushing the dust from her trousers. "What now?"

"Well you need to fetch your two-wheeled contraption and I'd prefer to hightail it outta town. What say you, darlin'?"

"Lets go," he started hurriedly down the road, Trish on his heels and Brook easily skipping on right after hers.

Lowering Pyro back down to the ground and pulling his Harley from the bushes, balancing the chest on it after pulling it up and getting it again onto the road, he stared to the girls again. "And now…?"

"We ain't completely ridded ourselves of Welton's grime, yet honey. I'm headed due north of her. And you?"

He shrugged, "Away from here…?"

"Still not one for plans then," she tsked at him. "Come on."

He followed her now, huffing his contraption along as Brook took hold of Pyro's hand and coaxed him too to skip with her.

"What's north?" the young man inquired, his eyes to the road as he watched his and the youngins' steps for fear of the heavy wheels and their closeness. He was a bit distracted otherwise as well, however, for the sight just a little up and before him.

Trish's un-modest attire showed off each and every curve, even her back…

"Honey," she said and he gasped at a small _crunch_ that followed, his own foot under a wheel.

"Mm-hmm, that's what I thought. And now that I clearly have your undivided attention, sugar, north is a small city by the name of Grand Barlow for yourself, and shelter of a few close friends of mine for me."

He grumbled in response, keeping his head down even more so he could only see his feet and the tires, a light blush staining his face. When the silence didn't help his color any, he spoke again, "Friends, huh? Sounds like you got too many…"

"I'm startin' to think of you as a friend, Mr. Ascelin. And as such, I feel it necessary to inform that you're the one with too little of the term."

"Been there, done that. Gone and nearly gotten myself killed because of the bastards…"

"Then maybe you weren't looking in the right places at the right times."

"Are you saying a random road in the middle of the night is the right time?" he taunted her lightly.

"It certainly has the potential to be so, as far as I can tell," she smiled back at him then. "Don't look so tinged, honey. Red's not your color and I feel I'm a touch to old for yours truly."

He blushed more, "I never once implied that I wanted anything of _any_ sort of nature from you!"

"You didn't have too, sugar. Your tone and defense however, just did," she winked and looked back to the road ahead.

Brook giggled loudly and Pyro was making a 'bleck' face as his new friend started to hum 'Sitting in a Tree' about the only present two adults about them. Ascelin groaned and rubbed at his temples, realizing only partially how long of a trip this was bound to be.

"Whatever… How far away is this Grand Barlow? I never bothered going further north of Weston before."

"At your speed or mine…?"

"Yours."

"Two weeks travel," was his answer.

Ascelin stopped, his complexion returning to normal as he turned wide eyes on the lady. "Two weeks?! Lady, I can hardly stand Pyro's yapping complaints for two days."

"Hey…" Pyro whined.

Ascelin kept going, "Not to mention all the pit stops we have to make to hunt, eat, and sleep… I can't go two weeks without what sad civilization any town or city has to offer."

"Then that just might explain why you only knew the area back there so well, Mr. Ascelin," Trish pondered thoughtfully. "Settlements close enough together to not allow your boy to drive you insane."

"_Hey_…" Pyro tried once more. Again ignored by the adults as Brook giggled happily.

"But hey, look at it this way. We only gotta make it straight through about a week's worth of the travel before we run into one of my said friend's from earlier. She's agreed to meet us halfway there and see us the rest of the part through. With fresh supplies and all, so no worries."

He sighed out a long and heavy breath, wiping at the residue of the gunk she'd smeared on his head earlier. "Fine… Just go…"

She smiled and laughed as a touch grudgingly, he followed.

…

Upon the sun's well setting, Ascelin having gotten a few lucky throws with a shabby handmade spear at some fish in a conveniently placed river. The fish already ridded of their scales and roasting skewered through smaller debarked branches over the flames of their campfire.

Placed nearby said riverside, Trish was digging through her bag.

Brook was dancing and frolicking around, keeping in sight and humming mostly to herself quietly. Pyro was playing with the hots and coals of the flames, glancing about a tad bit restlessly. Still unnerved from earlier this day.

Ascelin found himself keeping a watchful eye over Brooklyn, not fully understanding of why. But the slight distance she'd occasionally gain from the light illuminating the immediate area around them made his apparent anxiety slightly arise.

Until a thought, and he stood up, brushing his old torn jeans off.

"Brother?" Pyro wondered at the same time Trish glanced up from her things.

"I'll be back," was his only explanation as he grabbed his jacket off the seat of his bike and headed away into the woods. Out of sight if their makeshift camp and still around a few bends. Reaching the road and even crossing that before finally, he gingerly grabbed out the soul disk of the little girl he'd helped in the demise of mere hours ago.

Digging a generously deep hole in the ground by hand and placing it carefully, he hesitated a moment before pushing the first handfuls of dirt back in to fill in the new grave.

He could almost hear Trish's voice in his head now; _See, darlin'? You ain't near so cold-hearted as your mottled hat claims._

He scoffed aloud, amused with just how much he could get her accent right in his head, probably her word-for-word too. "You don't know that… You don't know nothing…"

But of course that was a double-negative. Which meant that…

"Brother?"

Ascelin barely avoided swinging back around and taking a sucker-punch to the small boy's jaw. He settled for jumping and stiffening up instead, hardly refraining from falling over from the momentum of the movement he'd reflexively wanted to do.

"Pyro…"

"Sorry, Brother…"

"It's okay… What are you doing out here? Already said I'd be back."

"I know…" he put his arms up and Ascelin automatically grabbed him from under his arms, resettling the child down sitting on his lap. Pyro rubbed at his eyes, tired. "Wanted to ask you something, Brother..."

"Hm?"

"Is Emily and all the other cousins that go to sleep and not wake back up…are they really angels then?"

Ascelin paused, the silence seeming to drag. He knew why Pyro was asking. The same question had come up once before, when some other psycho-nuts had tried to take him for his tech and they'd ranted about how all the Familiars and Ro-kids were sins and their Masters the sinners.

Damn bastards were the start to a new religious Cult that never quite caught on it seemed. But all the while during the struggle, they'd screamed about a revolution and those who would be accompanying them to a rather frantic version of what they claimed to be the Heaven of old times. Back before the Era of Mechanizing, where toddlers first began to disappear and then return 24hours later as robots.

Crazies had believed to their deaths that some weird rituals and the riddance of their own bonds were the answer to reopening the gates to God's favor. One such had been one of Ascelin's allegedly claimed friends that he mentioned earlier.

Son of a bitch ended up only having been trying to taint his own personal views to be just like theirs. So he'd died with the rest of 'em.

The fight had gotten Pyro thinking then though, and Ascelin had promptly gone on to avoid the answer to the boy's questions. Having been hurt physically, a little mentally, and majorly metaphorically.

"Big Brother….?" Pyro sounded concerned.

Ascelin snapped back into focus by the boy's tone. "I'm here, sorry buddy. That's just…a very difficult question to put a straight and honest answer towards…"

He thought on it anyways. "It…depends. Do _you_ believe Emily and all those others are angels flittering about now?"

Pyro's eyebrows slightly furrowed in response, "Well I dunno…"

Ascelin chuckled softly before again sobering up. "There's your problem, bro. You can either be like Trish and Brook and believe in something greater than this life is out there… Or you can be like me, and think that any sort of divine has long forgotten and abandoned us to ourselves some time ago…"

"Oh… how long ago, Brother?"

"Before your time, Pyro. Before mine, even."

"Hm… Okay, Ascelin," he yawned, rubbing at his eyes again as he cuddled closely into the young man's chest. "Angel or not…I hope Emily is better now with no more pain, just like Brook said…"

Ascelin had no further response as he stood back up and made way back towards the warmth of their camp. He laughed lightly at the groggy boy he kept in his arms, "Don't fall asleep just yet. You'll be complaining that you're hungry tomorrow."

"I'm not, Brother. Just resting a bit…"

By the time they reached it back, the boy would be snoring if he had the capabilities for it. Not having it in him to rouse him back up, settling him down beside the fire with his jacket, Ascelin took Pyro's portion of the food that Trish had divided up by now and wrapped it up, tucking it away in her bag for him tomorrow.

Cooked fish, bread, and raspberries. The heavier lady said nothing, not minding as she savored her own natural sweets that she must've devoted to the cause herself as Ascelin took up his.

Brook had already stuffed down her own food and now crawled over by her new sleeping friend. Giggling at the fact that he was so dead to the world for the moment as she brushed his brunette locks from his face. Placing a very soft kiss on his forehead before she laid down beside him, cherishing what she knew to be so rare, having the companionship of another like this for what felt like long, Brooklyn too passed out.

Ascelin caught Trish staring at him out his peripheral vision as he'd watched the cute little scene unfold. Ridding his face of the slight smile it had taken on and looking to her with a pinch of sarcasm next, "What?"

She shrugged, popping another tangy sweet berry in her mouth. "Just that you were right, sugar."

"About…?"

She smiled and said nothing. The hair of the back of his neck standing up on end as a voice seemed to whisper ever so softly on the breeze…

Speaking nothing but a repeat of his own head's earlier rambles.

_See, darlin'? You ain't near so cold-hearted as your mottled hat claims._


	7. Chapter 7

The next few days were oddly therapeutic. Pyro had someone else to talk to and play with for a change and Ascelin was sleeping better at night.

An odd realization he'd pondered more than once so far this trip; he actually trusted these two with his and _maybe_ even Pyro's life. Maybe.

And while there had been more shady and suspicious characters in passing along the roads, none dared attack for sake of their own lives upon seeing Trish's proud and determined demeanor and his own obvious luck with pulling through prior situations before.

Having actually taken notice of his own reflection the day before they'd left the water behind to split off a different way, he realized that he really didn't appear one to risk reckoning with.

It had to of been his gentle and brotherly responses to Pyro that made all these other creeps think him to be a touch soft. He'd never seen them carry their Familiars on their backs the way he preferred, after all. Perhaps it only seemed a handicap, a falter of his movements to them.

But it wasn't. Pushing it aside to the back of his mind; he didn't wanna think about all that right now.

He hadn't heard too terribly much more about this supposed 'friend' they were to be meeting today, either. Not that he'd asked. As far as he was still concerned, a couple come-and-go acquaintances were more than enough.

"Pyro! I said to stay on the trail!" Ascelin lightly snapped once again, eyeing his little brother and his friend a bit annoyedly.

"Sorry, Brother!" Pyro claimed, though it was clear he really wasn't paying much attention as he kept chasing right after Brooklyn. Tackling her to the ground at last, the girl tending to be a touch quicker than him, he smiled victoriously as she pushed him off and to the ground at her side.

"Ha!" he exclaimed.

Brook only stuck her tongue out at him and giggled before beginning to Share once again.

Trish laughed lightly as Ascelin groaned and rolled his eyes. "What's the matter, honey?"

"Thought they would've ran out of things to Share by now. They've been doing it all week."

She laughed again, "Oh quit sulking. They friends! I think you could learn a thing or two from your boy there…"

Ascelin rolled his eyes again, gesturing a big old 'Whatever' in her direction when someone else finally caught his eye. Through the trees and around the bend, it had only been a glimpse.

And as was protocol, run of good luck or not, he went to and scooped Pyro up unto his back instantly. Ignoring the boy's whine of disapproval.

Trish 'tsked' in his direction but offered Brook a hand nonetheless. "Come 'ere, pumpkin."

The little girl did as told, a small smile up in her friend's direction as she grabbed her own sister's bigger hand.

The lady who turned the bend up ahead of them and coming their way was an exotic flower in the desert, to put it simply. A patch of color amongst the typical ashen, drab surroundings. She alone, seemed a spark of hope in this dead world.

Her Familiar, a young boy perhaps just under Pyro's age was…

"Hex!" Pyro shouted, instantly squirming and wriggling his way to get out of the arm Ascelin had keeping him to his back.

"Pyro!" the other boy shouted, sprinting instantly this way.

"Trish and...Ascelin…?" the lovely young lady wondered as the gap in the distance between them steadily closed.

"Lexi," Trish laughed heartily back as Pyro freed himself of Ascelin and was tackled by Hex as soon as his feet touched the ground. Brook covered her mouth with a hand and giggled excitedly into it.

"Lex…" Ascelin responded unenthusiastically back after giving Pyro a pointed look.

The two women embraced as the next step in their reunion before Lexi turned to stare Ascelin's direction. "Why hello there, Cel…"

Trish laughed once more, "Oh my! What a small world it is! How have you been, Lexi, darlin'?"

The petite pretty lady turned her attention back to the bigger woman and they began talking while the children started a Sharing Triangle that could doubtlessly go on for quite some time if allowed.

Leaving Ascelin there, dumbfounded and speechless as he eyed this 'friend' of Trish's up.

Certainly she'd changed since the last time either of them bothered getting in touch or visiting a little more than a year ago.

Lexi was a skinny fun-sized girl standing at about 5'5 in height. She sported tan skin, popping big almond blue eyes, and perfect, full but thin, spiraling red-auburn curls falling to just a bit past her shoulders.

The rest of her features rather petite and pointed, all complimenting her high cheekbones and thin frame.

Her Familiar, Hex, a 6 year old not-quite-so tan boy who's eyes took on more a gray and wavy hair a brighter red rather than auburn. Cute, his freckles actually shown due to his slightly lighter complexion. He was dimples all the way when he smiled, having not yet grown from a few of his infant traits, baring still a fraction of baby fat and roundness.

"Well anyways, how have you been, Cel? It's been great receiving letters or signs of your whereabouts of late…"

He snapped out of his daze, realizing he'd been staring, and blinked his eyes heavily as if to rid them of something. "Yeah, sorry. I've just been busy and…didn't much think you'd fancy seeing me again after the escapade that occurred last time we trailed together…"

"You think I'd stay bent over a stupid disagreement so long and never again worry about where you've been and how you're doing…? Despite popular belief, Cel; I _do_ have a heart."

He had to keep from rolling his eyes at that. "Eh…let's not bring that into this. I've been good. Just a little duel of fists here…rusty iron shiv there…you know. The whole nine yards…"

"I see…" she was frowning at him though, obviously bothered until the children caught her attention and a small genuine smile toyed with the corners of her lips. "And is that big man I see there really Pyro?"

Pyro broke from the Sharing for a moment and looked over, the lights of his eyes way too bright to match his beaming face.

Lexi shielded her eyes and hid her wince as the boy trotted over, "Sh, shh, tone it down sweetie!"

Dimming them out a bit he put his arms up, she automatically lifted him. Putting most of his weight on a hip. "There we go… I do see Ascelin never got around to getting that checked between rounds of fights…"

Ascelin shrugged, "Like I said, been busy."

She eyed the Harley he still balanced via the handlebars and his hands. "Uh-huh, I see that. Why are you wheeling that contraption everywhere you go? Seems like a waste to me."

"It's in the finest condition of its time," Ascelin defended, only mildly insulted. "And I fully intend to fix it up."

"Before or after you make the time for Pyro's eyes…? Never mind, I'll do it when we get to Grand Barlow myself," she turned a smile Trish's way. "Trish dear, you sure know how to pick 'em."

"What can I say, honey? He had an air about him that I couldn't let rot to waste," the bigger lady smiled back.

"And for that I thank you," Lexi murmured softly before she started walking, shifting first Pyro's weight to her other side and then the backpack strapped to her shoulders. Going right by Ascelin without a second glance as she smiled and listened intently to the things the boy in her arms began to say way too quickly for even Ascelin to understand most of the time.

Hex and Brook skipping right on after, all happiness and glee for the time being.

Leaving Ascelin there once again, a seemingly permanate scowl on his face.

Trish stopped beside him, an eyebrow raised. "You're far too handsome a man to let an expression like that get stuck there, sugar."

"You didn't mention who your friend was."

"You never asked."

"Still would've been good to know…"

"Then you should've asked," she laughed lightly and settled a hand on his shoulder, amused when he didn't shrug it away. "Think about it this way, honey. Least now you've got someone around you actually have history with, good or bad. You should know what to or what not to expect."

He had no response to that, finally shifting his shoulder to dislodge her grip before putting up the old rusty kickstand on the Harley and continuing to push it along. His expression overall blank as Trish walked past to catch up to the others around the bend.

…

The travel became a touch more interesting now, with awkward silence between the two of them in the days and implied remarks at night. Trish went about it all like it was normal and the kids couldn't care much less, having each other to distract and occupy themselves.

Constant Sharing was a guarantee and rounds of games like tag and tackle otherwise.

Seated about the campfire now, Ascelin having successfully hunted a couple good rabbits to supply the meat for their dinner, Trish more bread and berries, and Lexi something unbelievable this time…

"Marshmallows!" Brook exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly at the bag of puffy white deliciousness.

Pyro almost looked confused and Hex laughed, patting his friend on the back. "Don't worry, there's hope for you yet."

Lexi raised an eyebrow at Ascelin, "You've never gotten him marshmallows for doubtlessly one of your endless nights of camping?"

Ascelin shrugged, a small frown tilting the corner of his lips. "Too many people wanna kill ya. In fact I bet those in your hands, have been poisoned."

Brook's smile faltered and she looked concernedly up to Trish. Hex pouted and Pyro looked more confused.

"Don't worry pumpkins. Ain't nothing wrong with them sweets, I promise," Trish assured sincerely upon a raised eyebrow to both Ascelin and the disbelieving look he was receiving from Lexi.

The chatter and noise amongst the three youngins steadily picked back up and died out again as they went away with Trish to find some good roasting sticks.

Ascelin stared hard into the fire and sighed upon noticing Lexi's switching of seats. Watching out the corners of his eyes as she sat down right there beside him. Unwillingly, he looked up expecting to meet some kind of deathly I-want-you-dead-right-now gaze.

Instead he was caught of guard. She was staring at him, yes, but her eyes were sorrowful, almost apologetic.

_Tears?_

Realizing he noticed, she casually rubbed at her eyes to get them away before slightly smiling in his direction. "I'm…glad you're okay, Cel. I really have been worried about you…"

"I'm sure there've been other things to occupy your time and mind."

"Only for so long… You're my best friend still, after everything."

He hesitated at that. "You…too…"

She rolled her eyes exasperatedly then and socked him a good one in the arm. He rubbed at the guaranteed bruise but a smile came anyway, looking at her.

"So Pyro's grown some, that's good. And I hope he has better control of his flames…?"

"Yeah, we got it down. Hex seems like an alright kid so far, any upgrades?"

She shrugged, "Potpourri Apparatus, if you count that."

She smirked and continued on when he gave her a confused looked. "Miscellaneous tools, basically. His hands and fingers can shift into scissors, drills, and wrenches. Tools in general. And a few shabby weapons like knives and blunt fists."

"Sounds like a mechanic's dream upgrade," Ascelin commented.

"It is," she smiled for a moment. "And it's come in handy on the rare occasions he's had to help himself…"

He nodded slowly and let the silence drown on. It was weird, accidentally finding her again.

Lexi and him went way back; back even to their own Mech days. This fact was what he remembered most of all. And a few specific others only revolving around her…

_**~"Get in there!"**__ the first man shouted, his voice gruff naturally and hoarse probably via the rest of the yelling he'd done that day and earlier evening. "Now!"_

_Ascelin, 11 years old holding the hand of a 10 year old Lexi did as told. Following her Master through the entrance of the cruddy and crumbling cave. Hugging her close as he looked back to his own, eyes wide with fright and alarm as another big boom of lightning and thunder cracked seemingly just outside._

"_Damnit! You three stay. I'm gon' go try and salvage some decent fire wood before the rain really hits…" with that, the blur in Ascelin's mind resembling whoever his own Master used to be disappeared into the on-coming hailstorm._

_Lexi's had fallen against the opposite cave wall of the ones the children cowered and cuddled by for warmth._

_In a drug induced fit, he'd been. One of his favorite highs. Completely and totally unaware when another big bang outside made the rocks above him break and fall down._

_Lexi had nearly screamed as her bond gasped and choked, clawing at the boulders that had already done their damage to his bones, hissing and spitting the children's way to try and tell them to scream for help but he hadn't been able to form words himself. Only thing that came out was a steady and sputtering stream of blood._

_The part Ascelin remembered most, holding Lexi. Holding her, having taken and put his own shirt on her to keep her warmer. Shushing and cooing her that it'd all be okay very soon, sparing and desperately hoping the fates wouldn't make a liar of him just this once._

_She'd cried softly into him as her lights slowly faded, as her Master died just a few strides away. Her hologram had gone out with the glow of her essence, and just as Ascelin had near about lost hope, her metal sunk into skin and she breathed again._

_Such was about the time that his own blur and angry brute of a Master returned._

_He remembered the sound of wood being dropped to stone, and vague in general screaming and cursing. He remembered helping Lexi escape out of the cave's entrance and into the rain that had begun outside, past his own mad bond._

_He remembered her running, and he could swear having seen her look back only once with a promise in her truly-human eyes…~_

And that had been that. About a year later, Ascelin's Master died as well. How, he remembered not specifically but when he'd turned human…

Opening real eyes for what seemed like the first time, she'd been there. Holding his head in her lap, a hope so strong it nearly hurt to look at within her eyes. Eyes he'd only seen once before when capable of expressing such strong emotions.

She'd been shaky, happy, and a little blood drenched. And he cared not to ask her how she'd done it. But she had and they were both free.

So they traveled, together for a time. Just a couple tots living in the world. It had been considerably easy times, scrounging, thieving, surviving and content with that. On occasion, they'd run into a temporarily alone ro-kid who'd be happy to slip them a treat or something to help, since Familiars were never immediately afraid of other children – Mech or not.

There was a time, however, that they went it alone for quite awhile. Having gotten cocky, or competitive, or stupid. But later they'd find and move around together again.

It was slowly shattering though, with the time. Their bond and friendship as either matured. Visits and contact became progressively less often and when they did happen by one another, they only chilled for maybe a day or so until going back about things on their own.

Ascelin had turned 16 when Pyro finally came along. And it wasn't until shortly before she turned so as well that he found her again. They'd made a plan that time, as she met Pyro, to meet again upon her next birthday.

Unlike most, it followed through and the boys were there for her when Hex arrived. A fresh ro-boy, a little toddler she'd never met that her life had now depended on and vice-versa.

They all traveled together once more, then. Ascelin's inner worry and secret care he had for her having not let him walk away until he knew she could handle it. And it had been nice, letting Pyro make his first friend and someone closer to his age being there for Hex right from the start.

And it continued to waver from there. A couple visits on and off…all it really took was for the boys to track the other's Energy Signature and hope the distance wasn't too far a trip to make.

But it had been more than a year prior to now, since bothering to track one another last. The argument had been stupid, too. Ascelin kept throwing himself into situations, to save her from having to, and nearly getting killed.

She got sick of it and snapped at him because of course everytime he risked himself, he risked Pyro. And he'd snapped back just because he'd been an immature guy about the situation and hadn't known what else to do.

Noticing how deep in thought he was, Lexi laughed sheepishly then to bring him back to the here and now. "Well…I am glad you're okay, Cel."

"You too, Lex," he repeated again, with a bit more surety this time. "So how'd you meet a character like Trish…?"

He jerked to grab a burning log to throw behind at a laugh that sounded, barely refraining himself from it.

Trish raised her eyebrows as she set four of the good marshmallow sticks down between the other two adults and retuned to her own seat. "Antsy tonight, aren't ya honey?" she patronized Ascelin as he stared at the branches.

Trish 'hmphed' his direction as she pulled a small knife from inside the back of her shoe and began sharpening the two sticks she'd kept for her and Brook.

Ascelin stared blankly, realizing how sad it probably seemed that he didn't carry one…

"Come here, Hex," Lexi said casually, pulling him up onto her lap facing the fire as she held his hands out. "Careful now, let's get a couple knives."

There were a couple clicks and clinks that seemed to start in the boy's shoulders after his hologram switched off. Until one by one, his fingers sunk into his little robotic hands and knives of varying lengths replaced them.

Hitting the little release knob on one of the slightly longer ones, Lexi freed the blade and held it out to Ascelin. Who took it with a sheepish, thoughtful smile. Realizing how odd it probably seemed that he still didn't carry one of his own.

Carving the remaining four sticks down to good points and sticking them with marshmallows to roast. Hex was sure to take the time and explain to Pyro how to make a 'perfect' one by his own preference after getting his knife-fingers back and turning his hologram on.

"Anyways…" Ascelin murmured, wry still from having not heard the kids' noise while he and Lexi were talking. He turned his dark gaze to both the women, "Where and how did you both come across each other…?"

"Much the same way I found you, sugar," Trish answered first. "Only perhaps a tone or two worse. She wasn't standing or even conscious when we met."

Lexi sighed and picked up from that at the concerned twinge his expression had taken. "If there's one thing I gotta admit, Cel… It's always been hard surviving without you and alone. I have had to fight my own fair share of battles to protect Hex..."

"I see…" he murmured. "And…when was this?"

"Not too long at all after we last did some moving around together…about just before you turned 18 actually I believe, Cel…"

"Great," he responded, bothered greatly by this. "So how bad were they, your wounds?"

"I think that's enough talk about it," Lexi shrugged. "It's past now, and I have a question of my own. When did you start luggin' that thing around everywhere you go?" she wondered, gesturing to the bike not too far behind him balancing on its old kickstand once more.

It was his turn to shrug with the accepted defeat of the prior topic dropped. "Practically just after I turned 18, actually…"

"And…how do you plan to fix it? I think you woulda found the parts by now if there were any…"

He turned skeptical eyes on her. "You got something against my bike or somethin'?"

"It's just….really old. I wouldn't trust it even if you did find decent pieces…"

"I got it covered," he assured. "Been hauling it everywhere I go for too long now to just drop and leave."

"Hm… I might be able to help you then, if that's the case," Lexi closed her eyes, considering. "Back where we're going, if you do feel so obligated to follow, I've got a small garage where I tune up a few things for shards… Not that you'd have to pay me anything. Your repairs would be on the house."

He only stared at her then. "You've…actually settled down somewhere?"

She opened her eyes and looked into the fire after a glance to the faltering kids, they were getting tired now. "Sorta, I mean…you don't know? Hasn't Trish told you anything?" she looked to her then.

Who shrugged in response, "He hasn't asked. This boy of yours charges head on into things without a plan before nor after the situation; I'm amazed he ain't dead…"

Lexi rolled her eyes at that before looking apologetically, again, to Ascelin. "Where we live, Trish, Hex, Brook, me, and some others…are one of the larger buildings in Grand Barlow. Used to be a pretty big-hit hotel, back in the 2000's I hear…"

"Others…?" his eyebrows furrowed together slightly. "I don't play nice with others, Lex…"

"I know you don't. Which was one of the reasons as to why I was a touch surprised to find you walking with Trish."

"I see…" he was resisting the urge to get up, pack, and get away now. "How many said 'others' are there and why? Can they be trusted and how would you know?"

"Darling," Trish said with a touch of stern. "Calm yourself, you're more antsy than you need to be about the possibility of meeting some very wise and helpful 'allies;' since you claim not to need or want friends."

He winced at that and she kept on, "A couple of them are my family, of my own flesh and blood. One of them, a younger brother of mine about your age, is Jake. He's a beefier version of you with darker skin and a fine medic in the making. His Familiar's my own daughter…. And the others who reside there otherwise, we're all a family through some sort of tie. If you trust me, sugar, you can trust them."

Ascelin said nothing for a good long moment before looking down to the flames. Unwillingly again for the second time tonight, accepting defeat on a topic. "Okay so…what all do you even do? Living in the same place for so long…_together_?"

She tsked at him and shook her head. "That's just it, honey. We _live_. And sometimes, it's not only just surviving. We're a pack of successful wolves on this dying planet, darling. I'm Alpha Female, main doctress and a supply runner for our group. Jake himself is helpful with the kids and keeping everyone safe… We all play our parts."

"And what's yours?" he murmured in Lexi's direction.

She rolled her eyes, "It varies… I babysit or tend to household chores when not attending to Hex or working in my garage."

"How many others are there total, you two and Familiars not included?"

"Six. And a few other randoms that come and go every so often… Don't worry though, we don't just let anybody in," Trish assured. "Let's see, aside from myself and Lexi here… There's Jake, Samantha, Pan, Vaughn, Derek, and Tanya."

"And you really _know_ all of them?"

"Honey, I can promise you on my own life that these people we live with are the utmost trustworthy and best group of today's civilians there is," Trish continued to assure, sincerity her expression.

Ascelin finally just shrugged and got up, walking over to the little pile the children had fallen asleep in by now and picking Pyro up out of it. Holding the boy comfortably to his own chest, he found his own place to lay down.

It wasn't too much longer until Lexi and Trish followed his example, they still had a trip ahead of them…


	8. Chapter 8

Grand Barlow was a bit more subtle a city than what either Ascelin or Pyro were used to. Big enough to find anything you may need; small enough to be comfortable, manageable, and probably affordable – back in the times, anyway.

Ascelin was truly bothered now, his eyes shifting about almost frantically in his anxiety. There were people in what his version of 'everywhere' apparently seemed to be. Which mainly consisted of a couple collective groups and a few singulars scavenging about with their Familiars close by their sides.

He had Pyro on his back again, not sure how Trish and Lexi could be walking so casually without even holding Brook's or Hex's hands.

People never scavenged in the open and amongst each other like this, never dared walk by without wry or paranoid glances in others' directions.

He shifted Pyro's weight then, giving a couple people moving by a dirty look. They returned it with skepticism and kept going, perhaps a touch faster than they had been before.

"Cel…" Lexi murmured, "Knock it off."

"What?" he mumbled back.

"You're being creepy."

"Not to mention rude, sugar," Trish added.

"…sorry," he unwillingly muttered in response, still keeping on their heels and watching his back.

Reaching a part of the area a touch calmer than the main roads, they came by a large building at least eight stories up. The sign of perhaps what it used to be named too weathered and worn to make out.

Standing at its entrance, a darker, caramel colored man with brown laced by yellow-gold eyes and the muscle to throw an easy one-hit-knock-out punch. His hair fell in light waves that didn't touch his shoulders, though a couple locks were in small, discrete braids about his head.

Ascelin stopped and stared, sizing him up and immediately drawing a conclusion about how a fight between the two would go.

Some ridiculous cartoon-y scene in his head with that guy snapping him like a twig…

"Trish!" he greeted in a voice deep enough to suitably fit his composure as he hugged the slightly shorter lady close.

Trish smiled and laughed lightly, "Jake, how have things been?"

"All's well," he answered, his intimidating gaze settling on Ascelin a moment. Taking in his scars and lithe muscles, overall thin frame and skittish behavior before looking down to Hex and Brook.

Exclaiming something in some language unknown to Ascelin as he released Trish and kneeled, opening his arms to the kids.

They ran to him instantly, all smiles and laughter.

Ascelin could feel Pyro shift on his back with a small little pout that made Ascelin immediately feel bad for some odd reason. Probably something to do with this whole 'happy reunion' image.

Lexi tapped Jake's shoulder and he stood with both kids under either arm, both still cackling and squirming ecstatically.

"And Miss Lexi," the barbarian of a man beamed. "Always a pleasure to witness your safe return."

She rolled her eyes exasperatedly, "And in desperate need of a bath, I wouldn't doubt Jake. This," she gestured back to Ascelin and he slightly tensed. "Is Ascelin. I've –"

"Whoa, wait," Jake interrupted, letting the children down and turning back to Ascelin himself. "_The_ Ascelin? Boy you constantly get irate and upset over, Miss Lexi? If so then it certainly is a pleasure," he offered a thick hand out to shake, a genuine smile taking his face now.

Ascelin only stared as he noticed Lexi's color go a bright red out the side of his vision. "Right…"

Jake hesitated a moment before taking back his hand and laughing heartily, "Well you were certainly right, Lex. He's not a people person."

"That's enough of the picking you big oaf," Trish scolded non-seriously as she opened the door to the big building, an actual door that still operated and worked like a charm. "Come on, we've got some unpacking, washing, and introducing to do."

Jake politely took the door from her and waited for the others to get on inside. Ascelin unwillingly leaned his Harley against the wall and reflexively kept himself between Pyro and this hulking man the whole time it took to pass him by, having finally let Pyro down to his own feet.

He kept a hand securely on the boy's shoulder, however. With the hand that wasn't supporting the small chest of shard's weight.

Trish shooed Jake away to go round up the rest of everyone else and Ascelin and Pyro into a room with still-intact showers. He raised his eyebrows and turned to look back at her but before he could successfully say a thing, she was shoving new clothes of two separate outfits into his arms and walking away.

Having washed up for the first time since he didn't quite know how long, he threw his and Pyro's old attires out but kept his leather jacket over a shoulder.

Pyro in new-looking, good fitting jeans and a short-sleeved shirt that sported only a couple small tears and was darker than what the boy normally dressed in. He smiled up at Ascelin as he hung his own new blue jean jacket over a shoulder as well.

He smiled and lightly messed up the child's still dripping hair. Aside from the leather, he himself now wore mildly more baggy jeans that fit well and a simple blue undershirt.

Standing aimlessly in the hall, not quite sure which way to go…

Lexi and Hex turned a corner and noticed them, in a new outfit altogether herself. "Hey," she called and waved them over. "Now that you guys don't smell so much like dirt, sweat, and exhaust, come meet the family."

Pyro jumped over to Hex, eager and ready. Lexi smiled down at them and led the way, raising an eyebrow and laughing at Ascelin who cussed on his breath and followed with heavier footsteps than usual.

They all were gathered into what must have been a big kitchen and dining area long ago. Ascelin faltered and hesitated in the doorway upon seeing all the new people before catching up to Lex and the kids.

Most everyone had stopped chatting and looked over, most everyone already standing and waiting in their patience. It seemed all their children were here as well, all their Familiars and bonds.

Hex found Brook and joined the rest of the youngins and Pyro's face lit up with pure ecstasy as he practically squirmed to follow. Ascelin took hold of his hand before he could and pointedly stopped walking, before they could get any closer to the group.

Including everyone but himself and the kids, there were eight other older people here.

Trish stepped forward, holding the hand of one of the other little girls and smiled, "Ascelin sweetie, you've already met my brother. This is his Familiar and my daughter, Ilyana."

The taller ro-girl clicked on her hologram and tilted her head up at the new stranger man. She was lighter colored than her Momma and Uncle Jake in just about every way minus the eyes.

She had her mother's green hazel eyes and slightly thicker frame. "Hello, sir."

Ascelin nodded to her, she seemed a bit older than Pyro. "Hey."

Trish coaxed her to return to the other six children there and continued the introductions.

Samantha, another seemingly rare case of a woman who had survived through her whole mechanization process up to the age of 16, where she woke automatically to a bonded ro-boy and immediately had to take him and flee a grudging, spiteful, and slowly regaining consciousness ex-Master that had been her's.

The blond lady in the blue eyes was a miracle story, Ascelin knew, she having been dropped with a kid right off the back.

Sizing her up, her posture shouted wisdom and a steady head but overall a weak-willed lady.

"Thankfully, Max has always been quite a cautious and very careful kid on his own without needing me telling him to be so. It's hard to say if I'd still be alive or not in present, had Trish's family not met and accepted me…" the modest woman finished explaining herself, though in all honesty, Ascelin didn't know why she'd bothered.

He didn't care about who all these others were. He didn't trust them. Didn't even like Jake, knowing the brute who was supposedly about his own age could take him down in an instant if he decided to show other colors and be an ass.

Another woman, a few years younger than Samantha stepped forward. Tanya's Master having been a friend of the family; her Aunt had baby cousin Lyric not too long after the Uncle had died. Soon after, the poor widowed Aunt snapped and Tanya and her Master took Lyric in as their own for his protection.

Her good Master having died a year later when she was 13, Tanya woke and continued to raise the infant on her own until turning 16. Where Lyric disappeared a day and returned a 4-year old robot and Familiar the next. That was about a year ago now, apparently.

Ascelin nodded to the snappy young lady with the attitude. "Right…"

A third girl slowly stepped forward, he could see her shaking. She seemed a small, thin, sickly thing. With thin hair and high cheekbones. This child had had a hard life, that much was easy to see right off the bat.

Trish stepped over to her, taking and rubbing her shoulders reassuringly before looking to Ascelin. "Sugar, this is Pan. She's the newest addition to what we have going on here, aside from you and Pyro. She and her little one over there, the smallest girl, Harmony, arrived not too long ago at all."

He nodded again, tilting his head in regard to the other children as another man stepped forward now.

"Name's Derek," he started right off the bat as most the others had. "I'm 26, just got my bond last year. Tye, he's in that ridiculous pile of little limbs somewhere," he chuckled, amused with the truth to his words.

The children were all staring over at Pyro now, almost expectantly.

"Good to meet you…" Ascelin didn't let him go.

And finally, the last unknown stepped forward. Young man by the name of Vaughn, who couldn't be much older than 17 but apparently hadn't yet received a small one to call his own.

He was in a game of patients, decisions, and waiting. Not sure when his Familiar would show, not sure if he could handle a kid whenever he or she did make a grand appearance.

Ascelin just stared at them all now. Angsty, tired of playing the listening game and wanting to move. "Okay…" he raised an eyebrow, slightly. "I'm –"

Jake raised a thick hand and laughed. "We all know who you are, man. Hear about you once a day at least, most of us do."

Lexi's face went bright red again. "I didn't worry allowed _that_ much, Jake…"

"Sure," the big man kept smiling. "And I ain't male."

"I could ensure that…" the much smaller girl almost growled and the barbarian guy let out a booming chuckle again, before his expression feigned fright.

Trish snapped her fingers to regain everyone's attentions. "That's enough of that talk now! There are naïve ears present," she smiled at the kids a second before raising eyebrows on Ascelin and Pyro.

Walking over and kneeling down in front of the anxious little boy. "Pumpkin, would you like to go play with all them other kids?"

"Yeah…" he answered, unsurely. "But…"

Trish looked up at Ascelin a moment. "But what, sugar?"

"Is it…safe?" Pyro wondered, following Trish's gaze up to Ascelin. "Brother?"

Who sighed, "….Yes, Pyro," he let the small boy go. "It…should be, safe…"

The less than a fraction of a second it took for the child to get to the others was almost unnerving. The Sharing they all started to do, an 8-way, had all their holograms off and eyes lit bright. If their faces were on, no one had a doubt there would be multiple little beaming faces staring at one another.


	9. Chapter 9

Trish stood, brushing the dust from her knees and watching Ascelin's twitchiness exasperatedly. "Honey, you need to learn to relax just a smidgeon. Everyone's fine. You're gonna put young Pan on edge should you not put the defensive down a notch…"

"Yeah," Jake was suddenly behind him, resting a large arm around the smaller man's shoulders and squeezing what Ascelin would later assume was meant to me assuringly.

It was rather the opposite though, too many people too close to keep track of at once in this closed room. He'd tensed and locked up something awful and stared forward, through Trish's head.

Jake seemed not to notice. "I think we should go move that two wheeled contraption of yours, by the way, man. It's shinier than others like it that I've seen. And whether the people around the area are better or not, some civilians just can't help themselves when it comes to shinies."

"What…do you propose I do with it?" Ascelin inquired through clenched teeth.

Jake removed his arm then and shrugged. "Don't really know. Plenty of spare and barren rooms 'round here left…"

"You can keep it in my garage, Cel," Lexi commented. "Lean it against the wall in the last open corner I have. That should be fine."

"Alright…" he followed her out.

Wheeling it in, thankful that her 'garage' was on the main floor and not up any of the stairs; she unlocked and opened the door for him. It was another larger room, not that one could easily tell.

It was littered by junk metal and broken scrap electronics. Tables with tools and shelves with even more clutter. He hesitated, not quite sure how to wheel the old Harley in without causing an avalanche.

"Hey, it ain't that bad…" Lexi murmured, her eyes narrowing on his expression. "Just follow the walkway till you reach the open part of the room."

"There's an open part in there?" he lowered his head and did as told at the glare the question received.

Mostly successful, he put the weight of the thing on its kickstand and looked around once more. "Wow…"

"I know."

"What do you have going on here, Lex…?"

"All sorts of things," she shrugged. "Trinkets I hoped to maybe repair at some point, mostly. Whenever I could find the time but…"

"Never got around to it."

"Nope. Tomorrow really never does come," she shrugged and smiled his way. "But hey, I managed some things. And I repair the Mech kids whenever their playing does get too rough and their Guardians are out…"

"I see… What kind of rough do you mean? Pyro's okay, right?"

Lexi rolled her eyes. "Do you see me standing here fretting over Hex's wellbeing this very moment? Pyro's with other children, Cel. Not crazy cult people or addicts…"

She looked at him hintingly then and he had to fight not to look away. "You know about that, then…?"

"Trish and I talked while you and Pyro showered. What the hell were you thinking?"

He shrugged and, finally, lowered the small chest he'd been carrying around with him both before and after bathing, down. Kicking it open lightly with his boot. "This… Was hoping to get the things needed to fix the bike and something nice for Pyro…"

She went quiet a moment, "You know… I've brought old mopeds and motorcycles in here before with the same hope, before I realized that like most everything else, I wasn't getting around to it and after several second looks, there just wasn't hope. But this thing…" she rested a hand on the handle. "This is in pretty decent shape. And I…may have just what it needs somewhere amongst this junk."

Ascelin couldn't help the smile that came to his own face after a minute. "Well that would be…convenient. Couldn't complain, it's about time I gained a little luck."

"Well I do suppose we'll see then. I'll do whatever I can do."

"Thanks Lex… So," Ascelin crossed his arms. "I suppose you expect a thank you for introducing me to everyone prior to even the knowledge of my arrival…"

She looked away. "Yeah-no. I'm sorry about that. But you know that I would never dare think speak your name unless the residents residing within here were the utmost trustworthy… I trust them Cel, about as much as I trust you."

"About?" he sighed. "What's done is done I suppose… and the kids seem to trust everyone too…"

The tan girl nodded, almost bouncing happily with the gesture. "Yes. And I'll admit now it made me beam…how happy Pyro looked just then."

"Same…" he responded, a touch more unsurely this time. "But Lex, what exactly is this? This group…what do you all have going on here? Seems odd – that a bunch of strangers would just come together this way. It's too….organized."

She sobered a bit at that. "Yes, you would be one to notice that wouldn't you?" she shook her head this time, more slowly. As if to clear it for thoughts of a new topic. "It started with just Trish, Jake, and their kids. I'm lucky she is how she is, Trish, or I'd be dead. But upon awakening and remembering where I was…"

She shrugged and started wandering about the room as he followed. Sorting things and checking around, she continued, "We're a grown group of truth seekers, Cel. Most of us just wanna know what happened, where, how…but mostly why things are the way they are. Why children go Mech and why some never wake up… If this is how things were meant to be or if there were some kind of mistakes."

He nodded, understanding so far. "Most of you…?"

"Pan doesn't know much about it. Jake forcibly carried her here after finding her randomly and feeling sorry for the poor girl. Knew she wouldn't stand a chance out there with Harmony, alone."

"She seemed a bit…traumatized," Ascelin confirmed. "Disturbed even, maybe."

"Yes. Another sob story, another typical situation of today's time. Her background was pretty bad, but since she's decided that we really don't intend harm on either her or Harmony, she barely likes to leave Jake's side."

"Any luck?"

She looked up from an old crushed phone she'd been staring at. "Hm?"

"Any luck with…finding the answers you all seek?"

"Ah…well, not much. There's been a theory here, a maybe there but…worries been settling in lately that the what and why of things has died out long ago, as years progressed."

"I see…" Ascelin claimed, looking at her. "What are you thinking about now then?"

"The latest idea," she admitted. "It was the strongest lead yet but in the end…still just led to more ruins and addicts hoping to mug a fix or some tech for themselves."

Looking around, he nearly flinched when something was suddenly being held up to him. It was a disk, shiny and reflecting the light of the dim room back out in tiny rainbows.

Ascelin didn't take it, only stared. "What sort of upgrade is that?"

"It's not too rare, but any safe disk is uncommon. Go get Pyro; I want you to have it whether you decide to stick around long or not."

"I…don't think so," he murmured. "How do you know it's clean?"

"Because it was in an old protective case with a few others. The thing was hard to crack, and the date marked way back. I'm thinking from before things went as haywire as they've gotten. And all the others were perfectly fine."

Hesitantly, he nodded and made his way back to the door. Heading out. Pyro was still Sharing in the room that he'd met everyone in. The space was mostly vacated otherwise, everyone else having returned to their jobs or habits.

"Pyro."

The boy unwillingly broke off the stares they all had going on and looked over, expressionless without his hologram on. "Big Brother?"

"Keep the image down and come on."

He did as told, confused. Climbing up onto Ascelin's back once closing the distance.

Taking him back to Lexi's garage, the girl worked fast. She already had a table completely cleared of everything, standing beside it with the disk in her hand. "Hey Pyro."

"Hi Lexi!" he climbed down and walked in beside Ascelin, large lit up yellow eyes staring curiously around. Hex poked his head in behind them before trotting in as well. Slipping under Ascelin's legs and catching up to Pyro.

Lexi messed up Hex's hair before lifting Pyro up onto the table vie under his arms.

He clicked on his image, expressing confusion as he eyed the disk. "Candy, Brother…? The good kind?" his face became hopeful.

Ascelin hesitated a moment before nodding. Pyro didn't seem to notice, "Yep. The good kind… Now click off the face and let Lexi do her thing."

Pyro did as told and laid down after smiling big. Looking up at her as his eyes brightened considerably.

Ascelin shushed their brightness back down as she slightly winced and opened a panel on the ro-boy's right side. Exposing a large disk drive, one already in place. A gold disk, since Pyro came with the ability to breathe fire and resist extreme heats.

Placing the shiny new silver one in place before closing him back up, Pyro's eyes went out to everything except numbers and coding as the new ability uploaded to his systems.

His big brother stood there in a worried impatience. This was where a virus would act if one existed.

Once the coding and formats concluded, the boy's eyes flashed back on and he sat up. Holding up a hand palm up, there seemed an obscure little hole in the center of his palm…

"Pyro…?" Ascelin murmured, looking to Lexi skeptically.

She walked away for a moment, returning with the chest of shards. Touching it to that hole on the boy's palm, it automatically shrunk, dispersed into particles, and went inside.

Ascelin's eyes slightly widened, having never seen an upgrade like that before. "Oh… Storage device…I get it…"

"So you can stop being so unprepared everywhere you go," Lexi commented, nodding as the little opening in Pyro's palm closed and he climbed easily off the table and stood beside Hex.

"But that chest was about the maximum size an item can be, so don't get any stupid theories and ideas," she continued, slightly teasing.

Ascelin had to chuckle at that, "Stupid ideas…? Me? Never, Lex."

"Sure," she socked him a hard one on the arm and his smile stayed an extra minute longer as he rubbed the spot. "So…" she murmured, "If you want me to see what I can do about your motored contraption, can I safely assume you trust at least my word enough to stick around?"

He faltered then, hardly noticing as Hex and Pyro ran back off to keep playing with all the others. "Well…yes, I suppose it does… I do trust you and… Trish."

It was her turn to smile now, "Good. Thanks, Cel," she hugged to him then; and he couldn't help but to totally relax and rest his arms back around her.

"No problem."


	10. Chapter 10

Days rolled by. And while the first week turned out obscurely relaxing for the two, eventually the point came when Ascelin was assigned to help around the place as well. Usually with Jake. The hulk of a man turned out to be not as bad as Ascelin had originally thought. He was a teddy bear of a brute, for sure.

Generally it was just supply runs or taking shifts in keeping an eye on the place or checking up on everybody. Patrols around at night every so often too. Nothing was nearly so dangerous though, since Pyro was always curled up and fast asleep by the time he had to get up and go.

He'd either move him into Lexi's and Hex's room to continue sleeping next to his younger friend, or just let him be. Depended how hard out he was most nights.

Otherwise, everyone seemed to be doing well last time he did a round inside. Even Pan was slowly warming up to him, and the longer he stayed here the more curious he honestly was about her story. Not that it was anything that would surprise him, he was sure. She was just another frail little thing, a typical fading glimmer of life lucky enough to have been saved before she went out all the way.

And Harmony was the absolute sweetest little thing, with her cherry red hair, dimples, freckles, and deep brown eyes. Ascelin had talked to her a time or two, and she said multiple curious things. A little philosopher, that one was it seemed. She was smart as well, too much so for her very young age.

Ascelin woke again one night, to a hand slightly shaking him by his shoulder. All the calm of surviving here with these people had his reflexes a touch rusty. Opening his eyes, he looked up expecting to see Jake's familiar form.

"Sugar? You awake honey?"

"Trish…?" Ascelin murmured back, confused and sitting up slowly, careful as not to dumb the sleeping ro-boy on his chest off. "What's up?"

She laughed quietly, "Get up and dressed. We've things to discuss with the group."

"Right," he responded and she headed promptly out.

Pulling jeans from the prior day back on after placing Pyro softly back down on the bed, he did up an old leather belt that was mostly intact. It had a few extra holes and rips perhaps, but it did its job still.

"Big Brother…?" came the boy's quiet mumbling; so he wasn't too hard unconscious right now.

"Sh," Ascelin whispered, sitting back down and pulling him back up onto his lap. "It's okay Pyro; stay asleep."

"Where'd the ball go?"

A small smile graced Ascelin's lips at the sleep talker as he pulled him up further, the boy's head on his shoulder and arms slack as he stood up once more. Carrying him out and to Lexi's door just down the hall and around a corner.

The door opened before he could take the knob in hand.

Lexi blinked at him a couple times before opening it further for Ascelin to carry Pyro in.

Settling the child down again by Hex on his bed, Pyro murmured again about a ball and Hex responded in his own sleep. "Look in the bush, Pyro…"

"But the thorns…"

Smiling once again as Lexi giggled from where she waited in the doorway, Ascelin tilted his head at her upon stepping back out and closing the door. "What are you doing up, Lex?"

"Trish woke me. It seems everyone is supposed to be around for something," she answered with a small shrug, heading towards the main meeting room, the same one where Ascelin met everybody again.

Sure enough, everyone was up and around there. Even Pan had been stirred for this meeting.

"Miss Lexi! Ascelin," Jake waved them over.

Ascelin waved lightly back as they obeyed and closed the distance, a little worse for wear at the realization that there were a few too many bodies in the room. Extras were present. And seeing them…they were obscurely familiar….

Ascelin's eyes widened lightly at the realization, seeing the baby they had with them comprehended the realization easily enough. The family, the very same one he met awhile back. The day after he and Trish met the first time.

There weren't seven this time, however. Their numbers had dwindled down by a single couple. Five remained, however, the main group.

The redneck father and his ro-girl first daughter, the mother and her ro-girl child. And still in her arms, the still totally human, completely innocent and unaware of what the future held in store for him infant. The baby boy that had managed to completely swipe his attention for as long as it took them to get out of sight.

"We've returned from the trip to Daidil with…regretful results…." the man murmured as his wife looked down. Tears in her eyes as she rocked the sleeping baby boy in one arm and tucked her ro-girl's hair behind her ear.

"It's in total ruin. Disaster… There are virtually no survivors and the people still there…they're too crazed to even speak. Guardians were…turning on their own bonds. Civilians were cannibalizing others… We lost Troy and young Kenneth amongst the chaos and thick air…"

Troy and Kenneth, the cousins. "So Daidil…was burned down to the dirt?" Ascelin inquired of them.

All he received was a good minute-long stare from the father until finally he shook his head. "Young man…it was much worse than that. Everything smelled and blood littered just about everywhere in some shape or form. Footprints, smears, draining from fresh corpses of the gone…"

The woman choked up at the memory and covered her mouth, sobbing lightly into it. Both the girls hugged to her sides, whimpering.

Trish stepped over, taking her shoulders to keep her steady. "Oh darlin'… I'm so sorry. Nothing can ever express the sympathy we feel for your loss…"

"But Mom," the older Ro-girl, the father's bond, muttered. "Troy and Kenneth are angels now, remember?"

Ascelin paused at that. This girl was certainly close to turning 16, and she still had the faith of a more youthful mech kid.

The other, the girl perhaps half her big sister's age, bounced lightly and nodded, looking up anxiously. "Yeah Mommy. They can _fly_ now…"

"That's right, sweet things," Trish murmured down at them with a small but genuine smile as she rubbed the woman's arms assuringly. "Beautiful and smart, your kids are Kaelyn…"

"Yes…" the lady nodded, wiping her eyes. "Thank you, Trish."

"This is bad…" Tanya muttered, holding her own arms as if failing an attempt at preventing goose bumps. "What could have happened?"

"Good question…" Derek responded. "People actually _eating_ others… These are desperate times indeed, but that's just sick," he toyed with the single earring he had in his right ear, a nervous habit Ascelin realized the 26 year old man had developed since a long time ago.

Vaughn shrugged, "Perhaps a virus? A new – or old – disease that we've rather lost immunity to over the generations? They got sick?"

"How does that explain the mess that the settlement is in general, though?" Lexi wondered. "People going nuts, okay. But…what could they do to make everything crash so suddenly and hard?"

"Explosives are another possibility," Jake seemed to be reminding her and Lexi nodded slowly.

"True… There have been numerous war heads and dud bombs discovered everywhere since the beginning of the Mechanization Era… Maybe one was just delayed? Something disturbed its centuries old dormancy and set it off?"

"Small earthquake could do it," Vaughn nodded. "If it was erupted from underground, that is. Enough to shake things up without giving the town above much of a warning."

"Maybe both," Derek suggested.

Tanya looked mostly confused so he continued, "The bomb went off. The radiation and things it kicked up could have made any possible survivors ill and crazy."

Trish held up a hand to recapture the attention. "We know nothing. The only theories are those just conducted and while our own youngins are tucked away in their beds; we have a whole family here who are suffering two very undeserving losses. Ascelin, honey, can you please escort them to a big room? One where they can keep each other company within for the night?"

"Yeah, sure," he answered automatically, waving for the newcomers to follow after as he headed out. They all slowly, stiffly obeyed.

The father took his baby son from Kaelyn to offer her limbs a touch more relief and as Ascelin rounded a few corners and climbed some stairs, finally he opened a door to one of their largest extra bedrooms for them.

The man and the girls slipped right in past him. The mother, Kaelyn however, stopped.

Turning to stare directly at him, her cheeks flushed and heated from blood within her skin, her eyes sunken, bloodshot, and perhaps a bit swollen from the mourning she'd been doing on the journey here.

Ascelin raised an eyebrow, "Ma'am…?"

Everything began to twist – there amongst her dark eyes. Her pupils, as he watched, seemed to expand and sink into the rest of her gaze. In seconds, everything in the background became blurred and unfocused, Ascelin himself felt disoriented and suddenly nauseous.

Two black orbs watched him and the sorrow that had been there, the utter depression and loss, faded to anger and…hate? Mad at him? Hating him?

She lashed out with a snarl and all he could do was release the door handle he'd forgotten he'd been gripping for balance, throw his arms up, and glimpse the many, narly and pointed teeth extruding from her bloodied gums.

Her hand caught his arm in a vice grip and it burned, her touch, like the very flames and depths of hell. Not that Ascelin much knew what that felt like, this gave him a pretty good idea.

And just before he could give out a shout or jerk away, everything snapped and he found himself blinking hard, rubbing his eyes. Opening them again, looking to her, Kaelyn's eyebrows were scrunched in worry. A delicate pale hand extended as if to grab him if he were to fall.

"Sir…? Are you okay?"

"What…?" he murmured, watching her skeptically. "What?"

"I…was just thanking you. For you and your group's hospitality… And wondered if you could pass that back along to Madam Trish?"

"Uh, yeah. Not a problem, Ma'am."

"Thank you, Ascelin."

He watched after until she closed the door on him, leaving him alone in the hallway to ponder.

No one had ever mentioned his name whilst standing before them.


	11. Chapter 11

Shaking his head to try and clear a small remnant of haze that seemed to stubbornly stick there, he looked to his right arm. Near the shoulder, where she – where he'd imagined…? – she'd grabbed.

There was a nasty looking almost burn-like wound there, bruising darkly as pus trickled out to fill the shallow gorge. It didn't look just like a hand however; he could make out claw shapes as well.

Shuddering, he turned to begin his descent back the way down to his own room before stopping frozen again.

Pan stood there, wide-eyed and pale.

"Pan…?" he tilted his head at her turning subtly to try and casually remove the wound mostly from view.

Too late, she was staring right at it.

"Pan…" he tried again, knowing the girl never talked. He took in her expression carefully, trying to guess exactly what it meant.

"You…have pissed off something very wrong, Mr. Ascelin…" she whispered, looking faint.

"What?" he stepped towards her then, once, stopping again when she flinched. "What did you say? Did you see that – whatever just happened?"

More steps hurried up the stairway before she could answer. Lexi stood there, holding a shaking and upset Pyro. Tears ran from the boy's eyes and he was consistently whimpering.

"Ascelin?" Lexi stared him down, eyebrows furrowing lightly.

He was thankful now that he'd kept his injury out of sight. "Hm?"

"What…happened?"

"What do you mean?" he raised an eyebrow at her a moment before letting his eyes wander. "Pyro, what's wrong?"

Confused, Lexi slowly lowered the boy to the floor and he stood there, shivering with a sad, frantic gaze. Turning to Ascelin, he shuffled over. "I heard something, Brother. It sounded like an animal and then…you screamed…."

Ascelin shook his head. He hadn't had the chance to make a sound. "No, buddy. I'm alright; you were just having a nightmare. That's all," promptly, he lifted the boy simply enough with only his left arm.

Holding him close, staring back into those youthful eyes that were full of fear and alarm. "I'm okay, Pyro…"

The boy only looked, biting his bottom lip a little as he thought. "You promise, Brother?"

"I promise…" Ascelin sighed, wry, unable to help glancing back up again to Pan.

But she was already gone.

So his gaze found Lexi once more. She didn't look near convinced, her arms crossed before her chest and her head to the side. Worry lining the corners of her eyes and mouth. "Cel… I think you should go see Trish…"

"No, I'm fine," he repeated with another sigh. "Honestly. Nothing happened. I showed the family to their room and was about to head back down. That's it."

"At least stay…in my room – with me?" she wondered then.

Ascelin stared her down a whole minute before thinking up a response. "Why?"

"Because… you didn't just hear Pyro's cry. It was terrible and…gave me a fright, Cel. Please don't argue…"

"Fine," sighing for what felt like too many times in a few simple seconds, he followed her down to the first level. Handing Pyro back to her, the boy still anxiously squirming and watching his master intently, Ascelin slipped alone into his room to do something quick about his arm.

It was already getting worse.

Taking one of those blue pills Trish always seemed to have in constantly updated supply, he cleaned the gorge out before wrapping it up. Pulling on one of his undershirts afterwards to cover up the wrap before heading again back out.

Lexi had waited for him; and hugged concernedly to his side as they walked the rest of the distance to her room. Getting in, Hex squeaked from where he was sitting at the center of his mattress, wrapped up in a blanket, hiding his nose and down. "Sister…? Pyro?"

"Everything's okay, Hex. Don't worry; it was just a bad dream."

Ascelin shooed Pyro back over towards Hex after Lexi slid him down to his own feet again. Pyro looked back up at Ascelin over his shoulder once before climbing up beside his best friend.

Hex automatically shared the blanket and, more unwillingly, laid back down. Pyro right along with him.

Lexi had moved and was now sitting on her own bed, watching as Ascelin started towards a not particularly sleep-intended or even capable old recliner she had in the room.

"Hey."

He looked at her and she patted a place on the bed right beside her.

Hesitantly, he changed course and sat down there, looking at her.

Lexi pulled him down further beside her, keeping an arm over his chest as her head rested upon – thoughtfully – his left shoulder and side. They waited for the childrens' breathing to calm and slow before proclaiming it safe to speak aloud.

Lexi started, "Are you sure you're okay, Cel?"

"Why are we still on this topic?"

"Pyro's shout was seriously freaky, Ascelin. You didn't hear it. I did. And…I'm not necessarily just referring to tonight. I mean in general, just lately."

"Everything's alright," he tried to reassure again, holding her closer to his side as he glimpsed her face instead of the ceiling. "Everything's been perfectly fine since I ran into you again, actually. Nothing's gone wrong…" _Before tonight, anyway._

"Okay. Good night, Cel…" she snuggled more before settling, closing her eyes.

"Night Lex," he murmured lowly back, softly. Flashbacks of old trying to intercept and take the attention of his mind.

But the thoughts passing through were focused elsewhere. Had Pan seen any of…that? How exactly much?

_Did it even happen?_

He wasn't sure. Ascelin was a smart guy about many things, generally lucky in the few areas where he hadn't an honest clue. But that image, those eyes, teeth, and claws just couldn't add up in his head.

Something was obviously very wrong.

Finally allowing his tired eyes some relief, his thoughts again returned to the small frail girl who had been trembling as she'd stared, leaning against the wall beside her for support. It was a wonder, how she'd managed to slip away evading attention completely for how unwell she was.

She'd gained a little of her weight back, since even his arrival. But that wouldn't stop Ascelin from easily holding the whole width of her wrist with only his index finger and thumb.

Not that he'd risk getting so close to her; would possibly cause her fragile figure to snap – just standing by him. At least that's what often it felt like. Which did suffice to him enough a reason to let her keep her space.

But really thinking, despite the smallness and rings always darkening the circles about her eyes, she was quite a little piece.

Her skin was snow white pale. Her hair long, touching just past the center of her back, and shining white-blond. Thick locks, too, perhaps the healthiest looking trait about her now. Her eyes were an ice blue, like light and transparent sapphires.

Sapphires? The word came to him with an odd feel. It had always been an un-thought and unsaid word. He just knew what it was, never once was it worthy enough a topic to be circling through his mind.

Wasn't like he'd ever seen one of the precious gems before, either.

Shifting slightly to get more comfortable, his mind went on. She was surprisingly fine too, in the way of the more…feminine features. More than once he'd stopped himself from glimpsing…most of the girls he was inevitably around every day.

Wasn't really his fault. He was a guy. And like most, he had certain desires.

Like the one to discover what it felt like…

Shifting again, suddenly, opening his eyes and then aware of Lexi once more. His dark gaze trailed over her.

Her sleeping face. Her soft skin and high cheek bones… The rest of her features and traits fitting perfectly together like a well done puzzle.

Her shirt was tugged down a bit at the collar from sleep, exposing bra and more cleavage than what normally would allow him to just skip past. It was in all truthfulness, a terrible tease that nearly woke something down below within himself…

Groaning, he let his head fall back down again and closed his eyes once more. Needing to get some sleep now before he tried to do something he'd later regret.

Managing it at some point though, his dreams were filled of images of both lust, passion, and pain. There was Lexi. And oddly, some glimpses of Pan. But once both girls faded completely and totally away, that thing took their places in their stead.

Those black eyes absolutely ruinous with a hungry desire. Those teeth moving and causing the gums to bleed more in their ecstasy at the thought of sinking into someone's soft and tender flesh. Those claws raking right through clothing, skin, and muscle alike…

It was hot. And frightening. And unbelievably alarming.

As those claws tore into himself further, those teeth biting at the exposed area of his throat. Ascelin thought he could hear Lexi laughing and Pan giggling in the background of the…screams? His screams? He was screaming?

And the burning… The pain of his arm, spreading throughout his body. Going up to his face, ten fold as bad as it had originally been.

And the stinging stayed there, on his cheek, and the burning lingered along as well. And just as it felt again he'd shout over the sounds of the laughing and bliss happening everywhere around him, something else intervened.

"Ascelin!"

His eyes shot open and down to Lexi. Where his eyebrows furrowed with the confusion of the look on her face.

Natural lighting was filtering in through what used to be a perfect window, had to be about noon right now. And Lexi's face…she was flushed. And his cheek still burned. And one of her hands was clenching his shirt while the other was up under, resting tensely on his chest over his heart.

And then his hands…the one had stayed caressing around her, where it was supposed to be. But the other…

He jerked it up out of her pants and likewise immediately, blood flooding to his own cheeks now. "Oh God… Lex, I'm sorry... Did you…slap me?"

She slapped him again, backhanded this time, the other side of his face. "That answer your question, jerk…"

"I said I'm sorry," he defended, frowning. "I can't help what the hell I do in my sleep."

"Whatever," she grumbled and he removed his other arm, letting her up.

"Lex…"

"What?"

"I'm sorry… I really am."

She sighed down at him this time, finger combing her own hair. "It's…fine, Cel. Let's just not speak of it and head out. We both slept in way too late."

"Big Sister…?" Hex yawned, sitting up from over where he had laid.

She smiled over at him, "Good afternoon, Hex. I wasn't talking to you. You always sleep in late."

"Okay," he laid back down and Pyro sat up next, pushing him off the bed.

Hex yelped and groaned from where he'd crashed to the floor, unmoving and unwillingly clicking on his hologram. Pouting up at Pyro as the slightly older child rolled off on top of him, smiling lightly.

Hex groaned louder.

"Big Brother?" Pyro wondered, seeming to be doing much better this morning. "Breakfast, Brother?"

"Go see what Derek's whipped up," Ascelin responded, standing as well.

"Come on, Hex!" Pyro demanded, pulling the thicker child to his own feet before racing out.

Lexi laughed as Hex grumbled and followed in heavy trudges.

And with one last look and a small blush his way, she followed after quickly. Leaving Ascelin standing there alone, to think once more about everything his mind felt like currently taunting him with.


	12. Chapter 12

The following couple days, Lexi proved much better at the 'it never happened' game than Ascelin would've thought. He carried on too, however. And now it didn't even feel awkward to be around her again unless he was directly thinking about what had occurred.

His arm however, was a bit worse for ware. The burn and bruise had expanded up to his shoulder and down to his elbow in worrying pace. No shirt he wore hid the top of it anymore.

Trish had made him let her take a look as soon as Tanya noticed and informed the top Madam of the odd occurrence. Thankfully, by that time, it had no longer looked like a handprint.

He was sitting down shirtless on a random bed in the top lady's 'healing' room now. It was organized with three mattresses in two rows. So six altogether, no more than that had ever been hurt at a time before.

He'd told her he wasn't sure where it had come from or how. He offered a rather lame excuse that perhaps something poisonous bit him and he had even noticed. Certain spider venoms could do this, after all, rot the skin and whatnot.

Ascelin stared at it now, the veins still hidden under a thinner layer of skin beneath the wound and pus popping out more than usual today. Blue blood lines making his skin really jut up everywhere the injury had progressed to.

Trish sat down beside him, on the side of the injured limb, and again started applying more gunk and medicines to it. Only thing any of them had done so far for him is dim the pain. Nothing stopped the spreading. Nothing bit down the infection that had clearly risen.

She wouldn't admit it, but Trish was seriously and concernedly stumped. She was worried about him.

"How we feeling today, sugar?"

"Fine, just like every other day," though that was a lie. Ascelin wasn't quite sure yet whether the quicker fatigue and faster exhaustion that was constantly getting to him – the even further lack of reflexes and slow responses were results of being too safe, too relaxed here for too long. Or a result of…whatever this thing consuming him slowly was.

Pan avoided him too of late. Since that freaky and odd night. It was like she knew he'd been trying to corner and talk to her. But either he never had the time, or someone needed help with something totally irrelevant and he ended up obliging.

The family had spent that one night and a fraction of the next day before packing up some supplies and leaving. Ascelin escorted them himself again, just to see…

And of course nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

"Jake and Brook's been worried too, honey…"

"I'll be fine," he murmured for only the millionth time since its happening.

"I hope so," Trish commented on him. "I wanted to ask you to accompany Derek and Jake to check on a few things…"

"What?"

"Worry about it if your arm gets better. Not a moment before."

"No. You brought it up, now you gotta tell me."

She sighed, putting the gels away and soaking his arm with a drenched cloth before drying it gingerly and picking up the wrap. "What happened to Daidil, pumpkin. Rumors been running that the same has just near bout' happened to a few towns around here…"

"Which towns?"

"Welton and Charvoi."

He paused at that. Daidil, he was there awhile back. Maybe a time or two, he didn't much care for the place or people there. But honestly, he hadn't originally cared about anywhere or anyone before here – Grand Barlow.

But Charvoi? It used to be some sort of capital back in the days. It was the city he left before running into those thugs and Trish along the road in the pretty immediate next days. And Welton? So much for the remaining addicts and suppliers there.

"Welton was a two week trip from here… And Charvoi, more than that by about an additional few days at least."

"I know. Which is why if this doesn't show improvement, you're either not going. Or accompanying Lexi and Samantha to West Bridge instead."

She continued when he gave her a skeptical look. "It's a ridiculous name, since from all the closest even mildly populated areas; the road to get there is all east. It's not even a whole day's walk, honey. From dawn to dusk I don't doubt as long as you don't drag along that suited-up moped of yours."

"And…Pyro?"

"He'd go with you. If we need to go somewhere inside the limits of our hometown here, then we'll leave our youngins within the safety of the walls and a sitter. But outside, even if just down the road, we take them with. They are our only source of technology, after all sweetie."

"I see… I'll do it."

"Maybe."

"Maybe?"

Trish sighed, "I already said, if this doesn't show improvement soon, you're not going anywhere."

"You can't stop me."

"I know that but…I'm led to believe that Lexi could convince you otherwise."

Ascelin faltered at that a moment, glowering after another.

Trish finished the wrapping and put a hand to his back reassuringly. "It's for your own good, darlin'. And Pyro's, for that matter. Nothing can happen to you, remember?"

"I know…" he sighed at her. And he did, but that wasn't strictly the point of the matter. "Well… There's something I've been intending to ask you about. I've held from though, since it seems like something to be considered a sensitive topic…"

Trish tilted her head at him with that. "Finally showing some interest outside the lives of yours and Lexi, I see. Ask away, pumpkin."

"Ilyana. If she's…yours. Then who's her father?"

Trish only stared a moment before nodding slowly and getting up, putting things away. "Ah… You've noticed she doesn't quite look…like the truly right piece to the puzzle that is me, Jake, and Brook, hm?"

Ascelin nodded too, "I'm sorry. It's none of my business."

Trish laughed, almost startling him.

"Sorry? Honey, I ain't sorry so you have no need to be either. Ily's Daddy… I didn't truthfully know the man. Name was Jostin, odd thing. And he pinned me to a wall in a random alley one night and blew me away. I didn't even really comprehend what was happening until he was done and got spooked away by my own father."

She shrugged and gave a small laugh, "I fell over, barely got to witness Papa chasing him down and around a corner while my Momma kneeled beside me to help. Jake was only 12 at the time…"

"And after I turned 21, I had Ily. Dad died about the same time and a year later, Momma had Brooky. Miscarried, Ma didn't make it. Jake and I knew she wasn't gonna. She'd been depressed and helpless since Pa's death. But…four years later, I was 26…Brook turned four and turned Mech. And once Ilyana hit four years, she did too for Jake when he was 16."

"Complicated," Ascelin commented. "Did…your dad ever catch Jostin?"

"No. Well…yes, but he was a slippery one, that man. Dad managed to get him pretty good though. Found him and sadly, his bond, a disturbed and deprived little boy, shut down and dead a few days later."

Ascelin nodded again. It was an odd thing…how different people handled large happenings in different ways. Anyone else in Trish's situation closer to the time of its entire occurrence would've snapped under pressure. Lost themselves in a deep depression until fading away. Or just broke and turned mental.

But no, Trish was quite the opposite of that all. She improved, Ascelin didn't doubt, from each event. Her resolve to help people and discover the why of things rebounded and as tough as ever.

If more people in the world were like this woman, than surely the planet would've actually gotten somewhere long ago.

Guilt washed lightly through the young man, a shameful memory. About how if he would've found Trish on the rode with shattered knees and a stab in the back, he would've either ended her misery or left her to suffer, probably depending on if Brook was present or not.

But there were a few people like her. And his being here, in this place, amongst them proved that maybe he would've been unexpected after all.

"Right… Well, I'm gonna go check up on Pyro…"

"Sounds good, sugar. Come back and see me tonight in here so I can change the wrap."

Pulling on a gray shirt and his leather jacket over, he headed out without a response. Something caught his attention before he could make it back to Samantha's room, where all the kids seemed to gather to play when most of the adults were busy.

Pan was wrapped up in a long coat that almost touched the ground around her feet, done up in buttons in front, hands deep in her pockets and Harmony by her side, heading out.

"Hey!"

She jumped and ran then, not looking back.

"Pan!" Ascelin pursued, sprinting through the door she left to slowly close behind her.

Giving it an extra boost, he lunged and tackled Harmony whence she was close enough. Twisting in the air, maneuvering to land on his back with the little girl held to his chest. Quickly, he scrambled up and looked as Pan skidded to a stop and stared back, wide eyed.

"What are you doing?" Ascelin demanded, reflexively making sure the little girl he'd shaken up was alright.

He sighed when he didn't get an answer and turned to return inside, carrying her bond still with him.

Pan reached a hand out, "Wait…"

He did, mostly just because he was surprised she talked to him again.

"Please…?"

"Tell me what you're doing."

"Going…"

"Where?"

"Away."

"Why?"

She sighed, looking upset. Tears came to the girl's eyes and he almost gave in right there. She was as delicate as a finely crafted glass doll…

"Why?" he tried again, a little softer.

"Because…"

"Pan, tell me why."

"Of you," she finished with a small huff.

Ascelin's eyebrow raised, skeptical. "What about me? What did I do?"

"Arrived and…" her big, soft blue eyes trailed down his face to where the wound would be hidden under his jacket, shirt, and wrapping. "That…"

"You did see what happened, didn't you…?" he closed his eyes, fighting back a shudder at the memory before looking to her again. Tensing a little, startled, she was much closer than she had been. Standing almost directly before him now with an arm again outstretched.

It took him a second to realize what she wanted, but once he did, he shifted the child in his arm against his chest away. "I'll hand her over if you tell me what all you saw, what you know, and come back inside."

She bit her lower lip then, thinking before unwillingly, nodding.

Harmony whined a little and reached out as Ascelin handed her over. Pan had to lower her back down to her own little feet pretty quickly, too thin herself to be able to take the extra weight.

"Now what did you see?"

She kept nibbling at her bottom lip, stuttering, not completely sure it seemed. "You had awoken…something. Something bad and vile…"

"What?"

"_They_."

"…What are they?"

She sighed again, getting antsy, looking over her shoulder a moment before looking back. "Not 'they.' _They_. And _They_'re remnants… Angry memories of old, ghosts of past…"

Ascelin hesitated, not quite sure if he was getting it or not. "Okay… How did I awaken one and…why was it mad at me?"

"I dunno…" Pan grumbled now. "Perhaps you reminded it of something old, something it didn't like that upset it."

"How do you make…a memory, angry?"

"By reminding it of itself."

"So…Kaelyn was a ghost or…something. A _They_?"

"No," Pan shook her head then. "Not specifically. It just used her to give an image to itself. _They_ can't cause harm by themselves. _They_ need a physical form to do that…" her eyes again traveled to the wound hidden from view on his arm. "And…there's no healing for what they do. That thing will travel until you're a foul ghoul of your original self or dead…"

Ascelin grew cold, that shiver finally making its way down his spine. "How…could you know this?"

"Because…" hesitantly, she opened her trench coat and lifted her shirt. Along her left side, going up and across her back and down around her thigh, was a mark of the _They_. A more narly burn than his own, less pus though. Dryer, less gruesome looking but more painful probably.

Harmony whined, upset at the sight of it, shaking.

Once she could see Ascelin got a good long look, Pan lowered her shirt back down.

"So…" he closed his eyes again, shaking his head. "If there's no cure to help fight this…why are you so eager to leave?"

"Because I see you as one of them."

"A _They_? How?"

"Yes…and because I'm close to becoming one myself…" she shrugged. "Once someone is marked, they die. Eventually. And become a _They_ themselves… You can't see my black eyes yet because…you're not quite dead enough."

"How long does it take?"

"Well…it travels fast at first but…does slow down. I've been marked for…awhile. I dunno…"

"Right…" he stepped back and leaned against an old telephone pole, putting a hand to his head and rubbing at his temples. "Right. Well…let's head back in. Being out here – or running off – isn't going to save either of us."

After a moment, she nodded, agreeing. Looking down to Harmony and gently shushing her small cries. "Go play with Brook…"

The little girl slowly nodded and returned inside before running down the hall, the other two following pretty close suite after until the door behind them closed. Ascelin sighed and looked down to Pan, "So what do we do now? There's gotta be something in existence to stop it."

"That was…why I'm here," she responded quietly, unsurely. "Why I stayed, anyway. I'm not near so…clueless about what all the others are trying to solve as they all think. I eavesdrop on every meeting, every ally group that comes through… I think _They _are connected to whatever happened – back in the beginning of the Mech Era…"

"I get it," Ascelin nodded. "Well… Lexi and Samantha were going to West Bridge here at some point. Maybe we can talk Trish into letting both of us go. Investigate a little, see what we can find."

Pan hesitated again, "I dunno…"

"Come on," he tilted his head down at her. "With all four of us together, I doubt any would be desperate enough to try anything."

More biting on her bottom lip, unwillingly, she nodded. "Okay… I'm…gonna go now," and with that, she turned and headed away.

Ascelin watched after, swearing that before she turned a corner. Whence she slightly glanced back over her shoulder to him one more time, her eyes were pure black...


	13. Chapter 13

A couple more days gone to the past.

Ascelin woke to the door opening, Hex standing there and tiptoeing over. Putting a hand up on Pyro, there was a small '_zap!_' sound and the ro-boy flung up and off the bed.

Ascelin caught and lowered him gently down before he could smash to the floor as Hex laughed.

"Gotcha!" the younger boy exclaimed.

Pyro growled then, and Hex's eyes widened before he ran back through the door he'd left wide open. Pyro following closely, trying to catch him, they were gone and out of sight pretty quick.

Rolling his eyes before closing them again, a dirt-stained pillow hit him in the face before he could doze back off. Groaning, he opened his eyes again and glared daggers up at the lady there before him.

"Come on, get up," Lexi said, ignoring the look being received. "Hex was supposed to wake you. I suppose he had other plans…"

Ascelin glowered a moment longer before stretching big and sitting up. Cringing slightly, the mark of _They_ was down to halfway across his chest and underarm to his side, stopping as well at about his wrist. "What is it?"

"Did you still wanna come with Samantha and me to West Bridge?"

"Yes…"

"Then get ready. We leave in ten."

"Did you tell Pan, too?"

She stopped in her descent to exit the room. "Pan? Why would we take her?"

"She wanted to go too."

"Well… I suppose. If you go wake her up, that is," and with that, Lexi left the room to fetch the racing boys.

Getting up and around, Ascelin knocked on Pan's door. Harmony opened it, the little girl's hologram up to reveal tired and sleep deprived eyes. Rubbing at them, she yawned and let the door swing open wider for Ascelin to come in as she crawled back up beside Pan in their bed.

"Pan…?" Ascelin wondered, hesitantly stepping closer to her.

She had claws…

"Pan?"

Her eyes fluttered open, thankfully their normal pale blue. Their gaze found him and slowly, hugging Harmony, she sat up. "Ascelin…"

"Morning," he greeted casually. "We're leaving for West Bridge soon. You coming?"

"…Yes," she answered, getting up. Her belly-shirt she wore to bed exposing her wound again.

"Okay, hurry up," swiftly, he headed back out.

They set off once everyone was ready. Pan in her trench coat. Lexi in a body-hugging shirt and tight pants that both allowed for her to be as flexibly able as she dared. Samantha in jeans and a tank top, and Ascelin in his usual attire.

The children, all four, were Sharing as they moved. Max, Samantha's bond, was a lithe and peculiarly towering 10 year old boy. Following by ages was Pyro, Hex, and then little Harmony.

"Lex?"

She looked to him.

"How's my bike coming along?"

She shrugged and gave him a small smile. "Maybe you should stop in and see at some point. You haven't really been back there since leaving the thing to my care."

"Been busy," was Ascelin's best excuse as he shrugged. "There's always so much to be done around there."

"Yeah there is," Samantha agreed. "It almost feels nice to get out and away for a day. Two maybe, if we decide to save the return trip for tomorrow."

"Right," Lex nodded. "That depends on what – if anything – we find."

"What are we even going to look for?" Ascelin inquired.

"Anything really," Samantha answered. "Something out of place, weird maybe… Answers in general. It's been awhile since checking West Bridge since its so close and the road to get there stays pretty level-footed to take. It's easy, so we don't focus on it as much as say some place like Jrowns."

"Jrowns…?"

"Another little city – big town…" Pan whispered.

Samantha smiled, hearing her. "Yes. It's the opposite way of where we're heading though. Another long trip on top of that as well."

"I see…" Ascelin murmured. "So we're going to West Bridge to sightsee…"

"Not completely," Lexi frowned at him. "We find things sometimes, Cel. Things that could lead to the things we seek. It's all important."

He shrugged at her, "Okay. Well, we should hurry then. I'd rather not have to stay the night."

There was a silent agreement amongst the air about them and their pace quickened. The kids' laugher the only interruption as their Sharing evolved to a silly game of follow the leader. Max in front, and then Hex, Harmony, and leaving Pyro last.

He grumped and Ascelin chuckled, messing with the child's hair as he walked by.

…

West Bride was another particularly quaint place. One perhaps without the suspicion and nutcase addicts. Everywhere had idiots, but Ascelin felt that if there were a Welton left to return too, he never would and even then would be too soon.

It was a suspiciously tempting thought though, to go back just to witness what was left. Surely it couldn't be as bad as the hic family made it out to be. Mourning over a loss could lead to any certain peoples' exaggeration on what actually happened.

People eating others? Sick, yes. But sadly common. Maybe there had just been a sickness going around when a group of raiding cannibals attacked.

Ascelin smiled sheepishly at the strange and obscure look he was receiving from Lexi, having not noticed as his thoughts had played rather openly out on his face. He never allowed that on most days, usually more watchful of it...

"Weirdo," she smiled back at him. "What the hell were you just thinking?"

"About…a group of cannibalistic raiders with great timing…attacking Daidil…"

She laughed lightly at that, "Sounds like a terrible book."

"Or a tragic biography," Samantha lightly scolded, looking back at the three of them. Pan shuffling quietly to herself in the back with Harmony.

Ascelin shrugged in response, "People are dying every day. The sadness of the fact got old a long time ago."

"If you feel nothing for a whole town's destruction, Ascelin, then I feel you've much more yet to learn than I originally anticipated."

"Hey," he raised an eyebrow at the tall sandy-blond woman. "Never said it wasn't a sad or worrying thing. Just that I don't feel any urges to mourn. Not like I knew anyone there anyways."

"But you do know that exactly half if not maybe just under of the population that were slaughtered there nonetheless, were children. Innocent youths. That should at least leave you feeling empty if not just a little sick."

"Nah," he closed his eyes as they walked, thinking. "Way I see it, Samantha… Those kids are the lucky ones."

Samantha stopped and really frowned at him then before 'hmphing' to herself and again leading. "I do see just how correct about him you were, Lexi…"

Lexi again blushed and Ascelin reopened his eyes, looking at her with eyebrows raised. "What all did you say about me?"

"Not too much of it was good…" Pan murmured.

"That's awesome," he grumbled and Lexi smiled up at him again.

"Hey, not all of it was bad either Cel…"

Samantha laughed and he felt that both the topic was done, and Lexi perhaps mentioned more things than she allowed to hint on…

"Big Brother?"

"Pyro," Ascelin murmured, looking down at the boy as he turned his hologram on. "Hm?"

"What we lookin' for, Brother?"

"I don't exactly know," the young man admitted.

"Treasure?" Hex wondered and Max chuckled.

"Not quite. We're…investigators. Looking for clues to solve our mystery," the oldest ro-boy offered, looking victorious as Hex and Pyro beamed and bounced excitedly around.

"What's a clue look like, Max?"

"How many do we need to find?"

"A clue looks…funny," Harmony spoke up. "Or weird. Something, anything strange could be a clue. And any number of them would be helpful to the cause."

"Cool!" Hex laughed and all four kids kept moving.

Ascelin didn't notice the smile now on his face either. This was good, healthy for Pyro. Finally having friends and others to talk to and interact with other than him. And Hex was just glad to have his best friend join their group and maybe even family…

But what of _Them_?

And the things Pan seemed to know?

Ascelin wasn't sure whether he was getting in far over his head or not. With each step he took with these people, any of them, could be a foot closer to digging his own grave. Lexi was worth the risk. But the others…

Whether he trusted Trish and Pan or not…were they worth his and Pyro's possible deaths as well?

It was a complicated world after all and perhaps another story hell-bound for tragedy.

A shiver down his spine, a trembling upon the breeze, Ascelin pulled his leather jacket on. Ignoring any looks he was possibly receiving from anyone – he didn't even glance to check.

And then she screamed and it all went dark.


	14. Chapter 14

There was smoke, and blackness, and cries. The scents of blood and piss alarmingly and quickly thick on the air. Acidic, like taking a bleach mixture in the eyes. Burning, stinging, pain and utter madness.

"…"

A voice? Crying?

"Please?!"

Shouting?

"Wake up, Cel! Come on!"

"Lex?"

"Yes! That's it! Oh God, come on Ascelin. Open your eyes!"

"Eyes?" focusing really hard for a minute, he did. And everything was blurry, glazed over. Like a fog, only thicker, with more stinging. "Lex?"

"Yes! Now come on, get up Cel!"

Hands were on him next, gripping his good arm, tugging, pulling him up to sitting.

And that's when it all hit. Comprehension. Like being snapped wide awake from both a heavy sleep and dream with a blast of frantic adrenaline right to the heart. Like a fresh gust to the face, memory came over him.

_~Pan screamed out as they reached near the center of West Bride. The town suddenly going up in flame and down in ruins as their eyes…_

_Survivors jumping to run this way and that, trying to get away. Away from things with extended and decayed fingernails for claws, black eyes, and many sharp, pointed out and jutting, serrated teeth. Narly, like nails on a chalkboard._

_Tremors; now passing through the ground and immediate area that was the town. Making Familiars, most of all the Mech kids that were there, fall. Lights out. Quickly followed by their Masters who quickly became newly animated with dark and frightening eyes._

_The ones who seemed immune, few were lucky to escape with their lives even now. As everything around seemed to be tearing at the seams of reality, giving way to utter chaos. _

_Them were attacking Them. Some Them slaughtered while other Them fought and…saved? Tried to?_

_One of Them had taken a heavy board to the back of Ascelin's head once he'd turned to try and help Pan. All he remembered before everything went black was Samantha screaming as well and Lexi stabbing into somebody with a blade she carried in the back of her boot.~_

"Pyro…?"

"Big Brother?!"

"Pyro!" Ascelin jerked up, shoving Lexi away and getting his feet beneath him. Looking around frantically. "Pyro?!"

"Brother?!"

He couldn't tell where the voice was coming from. Too many screams of terror, snarls of inhuman beings, and laughs of demonic bliss sounding out about them.

"Damnit! Pyro, where the hell are you?!" Ascelin looked immediately to Lexi and Pan, unaware of where Samantha had gone too. Until…

"Samantha…?" he murmured, looking at the form Pan leaned over, crying.

The blond woman's face was distorted in horror and pain, her arm outstretched towards an awkward-looking as ever Max… Who's hologram was off. Who's lights were out…

Harmony sobbed from where she cowered in Pan's arms.

"Sister?!"

"Hex!" Lexi screamed. "Cel, this fog is too thick! I can't see a fucking thing!"

It didn't make sense. Everything had seemed perfectly fine. They should have seen some sign of this slaughter oncoming. The kids' radars should've picked something up. _Anything_.

But there had been nothing at all to give fair nor decent warning.

"Pyro!" Ascelin practically growled, grabbing Pan's shoulders and pulling her up to her feet. Staring down at Harmony as the girl continued to cry and the young lady kept hold on her.

Ascelin kneeled down beside her, making Harmony look at him. Wiping tears away and brushing her hair behind her ears. "Harmony, you listen to me. Hex's and Pyro's soul verves, do you have them filed? From your Sharing?"

"Yes…"

"Can you lead us to them?"

She hesitated, trying to look back down and over at Samantha and Max. Ascelin took hold of her chin, not letting her. "Harmony!"

She flinched, "No… Some of them…they're watching us, Mr. Ascelin…"

"What?"

"Listen…" the little girl murmured.

Sure enough, the shouts had died down minus a few apparently fighting violently out their disagreements still hidden somewhere out of sight. The maniacal laughter that had just seemed to be in their ears now snarling and low screechings.

Ascelin hesitantly glanced up to Pan. "What's…going on?"

"Some are looking at us and the others…are killing each other," Harmony murmured and his gaze returned to her.

"Can…you see through this fog?"

"A little… I see _Them_…"

Ascelin hesitated; reflexively making sure Lexi was still standing right there beside him.

"And…what are they doing, sweetie?" Lexi murmured, tears streaming from her eyes in her worry for Hex.

"They're staring…at him," Harmony answered, looking from_ Them_ back to Ascelin.

Who couldn't really help but pale out at that. This was way in over his head. And he was getting tired… "Do they look angry, Harmony…?"

"Not really… They look anxious. Like…they're trying to debate something without…dying."

"Can you hear them, too?"

"Not what they're saying, no."

"Oh God…" Lexi murmured, covering her mouth with a shaking hand.

"Sh," Ascelin murmured up at her, watching Harmony closely as she seemed to be focusing on multiple different things in the fog. "Can you ask _Them_ something for me, Harmony?" he inquired, just now realizing the tremors had mostly quit as well.

"I…could try," the little girl answered honestly.

"Ask _Them_ if we can please have Pyro and Hex back, really nicely."

Harmony nodded and focused on a certain spot in the fog. Opening her mouth to speak, Pan quickly covered it. "No," she whispered, frantic. "No, Harmony."

Ascelin stared at her, struggling not to snap. "Do you not comprehend how desperate this situation is getting every second?"

As Pan stared back at him, something changed. Her eyes…they melted into the black. Like Kaelyn, her pupils seemed to sink into and taint the rest of the colors of them. The blues and whites thoroughly engulfed in moments.

Ascelin reflexively stood up, grabbing Lexi's wrist protectively. "Pan…"

"I'm still me," she murmured, her voice demonic and warped, but in there somewhere. Her gaze seemed to leave him and go back to _Them_, observant, like nothing could escape her vision.

There were more screams again, snarls, gurgling as if suffocating slowly on something thick. Blood? Far more inhumane than the sounds of peoples' agonies and deaths.

"No…" Pan whispered as if in response to something. "No… You can't take them. Please, bring their children back. They're…important. To me…"

More screams, louder, piercing. Lexi shouted out and Ascelin cringed, holding his head with the hand not gripping the other lady's wrist.

"No," Pan murmured again. "No, you don't understand. They're… What? No…you can't…"

"Pan?" Ascelin snapped, glowering at her. "What's being said? How can you understand them?"

"Ascelin…" the girl murmured, her expression morphing as if just the syllables of his name were a slap across the face to her. Her dark gaze again found him, "No, Ascelin…"

"What?!"

Lexi gripped his hand then, squeezing it, frightened.

"No…" Pan shook her head slowly, not understanding. "Not you… It's not fair..."

"Pan, god damnit, what?!"

"I'm…sorry… They've decided and…" she murmured. "But…there's only one thing left to do to…save you…."

"_Pan_?"

_They_ attacked.

It was like being stuck inside a cloud. Trapped and wandering aimlessly, the destination being anywhere else and the importance – to escape before it became a storm. But Ascelin fail in this aspect.

_They_ – the metaphoric lightning were fast, and sudden, and leaving him alarmingly disoriented. It was like being maimed, or something very similar to it. Every hurt with the sting of lightning, he couldn't hear over their screams and snarls of both violence and terror.

And then once more, blackness.

Opening his eyes in what felt only a blink.

Lexi was there, unconscious beside him. Pan nowhere to be found but Pyro, and Hex were each being held by _Them_. In the arms of once each, and it was strange because _Them_ seemed to be…cradling? Cradling the sleepy but awake boys?

"Pyro!" Ascelin yelled, trying to jerk up from where he was strapped down. An old medical bed with binds and belts to hold him securely in place. Layers of dried blood underneath…

"Brother…" Pyro murmured, opening his too-human eyes and looking over, his hologram up.

"Let him go!" Ascelin screamed, jerking again.

"It's okay Brother…" Pyro whispered, tears running down his face. "It's only the angels… They're _real_, Big Brother. And…they chose you…"

"What are you talking about?! Pyro, scorch 'em! Now!"

"Hex…" Lexi murmured in her feverish unconsciousness and he had to look over to her, where she was bound on another crusted mattress as well.

"Sister…" Hex murmured from where he was curled up in the arms of a black-eyed _Them_, not actually awake himself.

"Pyro," Ascelin looked back to him and his eyes went wide. The _Them_ holding him and Hex now drew a blades, new looking, and sharp… "Pyro! No!"

Tears still streamed from the little boy's eyes and now formed in Ascelin's as he jerked, fought, and struggled.

"I love you, Brother. And…make sure Lexi knows that Hex loves her, too."

"Pyro! NO!"

Slice.

Blood.

Last breaths.

Pain.

Darkness.

Oblivion.


	15. Chapter 15

Systems: Booting On.

Progress: Detected.

Master-

Presence Near: Confirmed.

Consciousness: Negative.

Upgrades-

Pyromania: Confirmed.

Particle Compression Space: Confirmed.

Potpourri Apparatus: Confirmed.

Progress: Detected.

Soul Verve Status: Locked And Awaiting: Confirmed.

Master-

Presence Near: Confirmed.

Consciousness: Negative.

Progress: Complete.

Soul Verve Status: Locked and Awaiting: Confirmed.

Master- Presence Near: Confirmed.

Consciousness: Rousing.

Mechanization Process: Complete.

Slowly, Ascelin opened his eyes. Finding naught but the sky and treetops above him, ever so empty and blue, alive and green…

But no, that wasn't quite right, was it?

The trees – the ones that had lived to even this day – had some green, but never so bright and…vibrant as these. And the sky, while occasionally blue indeed, never so…openly. So oddly therapeutically and full of possibilities for thoughts and ponderings.

It was _too_ blue. And those leave – _too_ green, too alive for what made him feel comfortable.

Nonetheless, the young man found himself feeling strangely passive and not feeling an urgent need to move at all, not anytime soon. Closing his eyes once more, a thought crossing his mind, _Oh Pyro…I'm so sorry…_

…_Pyro._

_Pyro?_

He jolted up into sitting and practically rolled to his feet, looking around, confused and clearly distressed. They were in West Bridge, still. Only someone had clearly had a change of scenery in mind.

It was in total ruin. Destruction that appeared a little old and seemed too at peace on this impossibly perfect outside day. There was no one at all around…

"Pyro?!"

"Cel…?"

"Lexi," he had jerked a little at the sound of her voice. Noticing her for the first time, sitting there, staring at him, her face pale and eyes widened. "…Cel….?"

"Lex?" he stared at her, confusion and worry coming down over him.

But before he could say anything more, letters appeared within his vision.

Master-

Presence Near: Confirmed.

Consciousness: Affirmative.

The asking in Ascelin's throat never took voice. Stopping in his throat coldly, as the frozenness slowly moved out to the rest of his body. A heart-stopping realization, like a grasping and hopeless feel of loss and near-denial.

"Ascelin…"

"Lex…"

She stood up then and came over to him, hesitantly taking his hand and holding it up for his gaze to face…

Metallic, shining in this sunlight, metal. New-looking and perfectly maneuverable, if not for the fact that a little place in his core felt so empty from the inside – out. The only part of the real him he had left, his soul.

If he still owned the ability to go out, he actually might've fainted.

But a little blue borderline of a square came to his vision then, distracting him. And a sense of most literally built-in knowing made him automatically follow the marker with only his gaze.

To a little pile on the ground.

His leather jacket.

And Pyro's blue jean one.

If he could cry, he hadn't a doubt that even the man that was still somewhere inside wouldn't deny him the tears he rather desperately wanted to lose. Releasing Lexi's hand and, carefully, as not to look at the rest of his built frame, he got to and picked up the repaired clothes.

All the tears had been sewn, the proper shades and color restored.

"Hex…"

He looked back to her then, a hand over her mouth, her eyes threatening to flood as she shrunk down to her knees. "Oh God… Hex…"

"Hey," he murmured, finding something in his own jacket's pocket before stepping back over and kneeling too. "Hey…" he held out the little necklace he assumed her old ro-boy must've kept constantly hidden under his shirt or something.

Lexi's eyes widened and the tears made their almost-eager escape as slowly, she took it. Looking from the ancient arrow-head on the leather string to the ro-man beside her.

"He loved you… And they…wouldn't want you – us, to be trapped in a loop of mourning and despair…" pretty words, and he found himself _almost_ thankful for the ability to keep his now-noticeably robotic tone completely flat and blank of all emotion.

"Cel… Am I your…?" she looked back down, not knowing how to say it.

"Master," Ascelin nodded in answer, not liking the word or how it felt so naturally flowing from his mouth. "Yes."

"Oh God," she closed her eyes and looked down again, lightly sobbing.

Ascelin sighed, knowing there was nothing he could do further to currently calm her. Nothing short of being there – here, in this uniquely beautiful place. One of which had been soaked in blood and violent slaughter mere…days? Weeks? He didn't quite know.

But something within couldn't help but make him feel just a little spiteful.

Here she was, mourning her loss.

But what about his?

_Pyro…_

Flinching slightly, taken off guard as she took hold of his hands, Lexi moved his arms out of the way and hugged to him. Confidently, curling up on his lap as she pushed him off balance and onto his ass.

He was still clothed, thoughtfully. Clearly he was made differently. He could still feel something down there, and strangely enough it seemed all his feelings to contact and her soft skin were the same.

Temperatures was a different story, he was rather left to guess. But a sensor let his mind know that despite the sunshine, she was chilled to the bone. An inner cold, one he too felt and knew there was naught he could really do for it.

But nonetheless, he pulled his leather jacket around her shoulders then and held her close as in a sense, they both mourned. His tiny ounce of spite melted away as something not in his radars or scanners let him know that she mourned for the both of them and their eternal losses of both Pyro and Hex.

…

It seemed to take hours. Sitting there, letting her cry, murmur, and tremble until alas, her exhaustion comprehended too and the foggy waves of loss and regret claimed her. Ascelin felt a strange sense of stiffness as he shifter his legs beneath her.

Dusk was upon them now and the sky was casting shadows askew everything as the brilliant hues of orange morphed steadily to indigoes and purples far above. They were shades that he never before beheld.

Shades whose brilliant radiance would forever render a dark and dismal meaning to him.

He was tired. But by this point, staying here hardly seemed an option.

So, maneuvering carefully, he regained his feet. Keeping Lexi in his arms and both jackets over her, Hex's necklace in her hands, he walked. It was going to be a long and lonely night.

Something caught his attention, outlined by another blue-border-lined square in his gaze.

"Samantha…" he murmured, taken off guard at the blond woman who looked…different. Her face, that of which had been stuck as a horrified image of a woman's terror whence she died, was now at peace.

She was unbroken and lying on her back, eyes closed gently and the robot that had been Max curled up against her side under one arm. Her other was down at her side, lightly gripping something...

Max's soul disk; it was like someone knew…

Sighing to himself, Ascelin managed to take it forever from the corpse's grasp and tuck it away in his pocket for burying later before he continued on.

Feeling the most dead he had yet thus far, he found his thoughts on what all the things inside meant. His mind was like a built-in manual for it all. The blue squares were his scanners pointing out things relevant to himself.

Whenever they'd be green, whatever they lined-in would be important to Lexi to either have or know.

And red would mean enemies, dangers, possible threats and whatnot.

It was a quiet walk, too quiet. With only Lexi's occasional sad whimper or muttering to accompany him.

Shushing her gently each time, he could almost hear Pyro complaining that he was tired in the back of his mind. Again, tears wanted to come but none would and he knew it. Not until he figured out the hologram at least and now was not the time for it.

Would he still even look like himself?

He was almost afraid of knowing.

The night progressed on; dusk having long gone to dark now and the sky was finally reverting back to familiarity. It had still been perfectly clear and strangely starry for awhile there, more than he'd ever been able to see at a time before.

But now clouds were finally rolling in, blotching out some of the view up there and re-hiding the wonders even he never really knew it could behold.

The twinkling lights had reminded him too much and often of Pan, and those stunning blue eyes… before they'd 'gone goth,' anyway. Before her glistening sapphires had turned to empty onyxes…

Shaking his head once more to empty his mind of the girl, once again, he pressed on. The darkness, fog forming, and light but getting heavier rain about seeming only to define the black feelings he felt inside.


	16. Chapter 16

It was near dawn but the sky still more or less black when finally, he made it back to Grand Barlow.

Still carrying Lexi, he made it inside with a sense of obscurity. Jake must've turned in earlier than usual; normally he'd still be guarding the door and patrolling the immediate area outside.

The halls were quiet, nothing unusual there for the time that it was. He glimpsed absolutely no one as he made it into his master's – Lex's room.

Settling her down on the bed, pulling the covers up around her, Ascelin let the young woman keep his jacket and Hex's necklace before, keeping Pyro's, he returned to his own room.

Standing there alone, in the center, holding the little jean coat tight. The silence pressing weight down on him again as he looked about to the little things Pyro had done, drawings of him and Ascelin. One of the boy up on his back. Another of him, Trish, Pyro, and Brook sitting around what could only be a campfire. A third of Pyro and Hex playing while Lexi and him seemed to be poking at each other in the back ground…

He resisted the urge to fall hopelessly to his knees as the door slammed open from behind.

"Put 'em up or I swear this beam I'm holdin' will have the pleasure of…" Trish's voice slowed and faded out as she took in the sight of the back before her. Wearing the same clothes Ascelin wore the same day they'd left…

He heard the sound of something heavy falling to the floor as Trish hastily stepped over to him. Taking his shoulders and stepping to the side to get a look at his face, "Sugar…? Ascelin, that really you in there sweetie?"

Looking to her, there was pain, confusion, alarm, and concern in her accepting hazel eyes. That look made him even weaker in the knees, wanting to hug her and cry. Be comforted the same way he'd done for Lexi all the day prior.

Instead, he only slightly tilted his head in response and nodded. "Trish..."

She visibly tried to hide but winced at the robotic tone of his voice. "Oh honey…"

"How long have we been gone?"

"A…few weeks, sugar. Vaughn and Derek went lookin' but they couldn't find any of you… Not even a small sign that you all ever existed…" tears came to the woman's eyes and she took him into her arms, hugging him close. "We were so worried, pumpkin. We all were…"

Ascelin's voice again froze in his throat and he had to take a moment to recollect his reasonable thoughts before trying again. "Trish… Samantha and Max are gone. Lexi's in her room asleep. And Pan… I don't honestly know."

Unwillingly he could tell, she released him and pulled away. "Oh honey… Hex and Harmony…?"

"Dead. And with Pan I'd assume."

"I…" she choked up just the slightest bit before biting down the sorrow and more or less regaining her composure. "I won't ask you what happened tonight, Ascelin. But…how do you feel? Are you in pain…?"

"I can't figure out the hologram…" he admitted, looking down.

"…Right. Come with me, sugar. We'll get you…fixed right up."

He could tell as he followed her out she'd avoided saying 'repaired.' Couldn't blame her though. He was a machine now and he'd have to come to terms with the fact at some point.

And the longer it took him, the longer it would hurt.

They got into Lexi's garage, where his bike was hidden under a tarp in the same corner and the room in general was a bit more cleaned up. A large mirror took up a wall, one he perhaps hadn't noticed before due to the piled-high junk.

And he couldn't really help but stare at what was apparently himself in it as Trish sat him down up on a table and had him remove his shirt.

He was the same size he had been in both height and width everywhere. Just much colder and harder. Metal and tech, everything. Ball joints so his limbs could move, flexibly-worked metal around his back and waist so he could bend right.

No hair whatsoever on his head or any place otherwise. His face blank, completely so and as it would remain without a hologram up. His eyes not quite so big and round as mech-kids' were. But lit up all the same, a couple lights.

"Here's the problem…" Trish murmured as he only now realized she had a compartment on his upper back opened up.

He jerked a little, it was certainly awkward. And sure enough, now that he'd realized, there were small shocks and tweaks of what could only be considered pain. Pyro had been telling the truth.

The realization made him somehow colder, and flinch away more as Trish fiddled around with a few somethings inside.

There was a _click_, and his eyes went to static for about a second before returning to normal. And looking over to the mirror again, he was him.

Mostly. Just lacking completely the battle scars and stress lines he had sported before. He looked new, metaphorically soft, and tribulation free.

He hated it.

Probably seeing the thought and now the emotion on his face, in his eyes even if not so real as before, Trish sat by and rested an arm around his shoulders. "Oh sugar…there you are…"

He looked down, his hair hiding mostly those real-fake eyes from view. The shade of them was off. They'd always been dark brown before – now however lighter laced with what was almost gold. Prominent with the watering he couldn't stop them from doing.

He let her try; but nothing could comfort the emptiness he felt inside. He hadn't allowed himself to actually think it yet. He wouldn't either, he couldn't. But he had to.

A sob escaping his throat as his own hands came up to hide the rest of his face from view, "Pyro is dead… I failed him, Trish. I didn't try hard enough and he died…"

"No, pumpkin," Trish murmured, pulling him more for an actual embrace. "No… I'm sure that's not what went down. If it was the case then you wouldn't still be here now."

"I don't wanna be…"

"Oh Ascelin…" Trish hushed him and assuringly rubbed his back.

He felt pathetic, and weak, and obscurely small. He hadn't cried since perhaps way back when after he set Lexi free. Not even a slight recollection of it since then. He felt childish, that was it. Defenseless, a better term. Helpless, further yet.

Trish sighed gently to herself after the sun was just past risen, another couple hours later. She'd shed tears of her own over the expense of time. "Sugar…?" she whispered. "You sleepin', hon…?" he hadn't moved or made a sound for awhile.

"No…" he answered, unable to just pass into the merciful oblivion that was unconsciousness like Lexi.

Trish rubbed his back again, "If you'd so permit me, I could help you…shut down, for a little while. Maybe it'd help your mind clear by the time you wake again."

He hesitated, clearly unsure.

She shifted slightly, "It's up to you, hon. It's still your body. Just a suggestion is all it was."

He nodded, mumbling, "Just…do it."

"For how long?"

"I don't care. I know you want to get a better look at everything and you can get most of the story from Lex when she wakes up," he managed to click his own hologram off now that he'd felt what had to be done within to control it for awhile. "Do whatever you need to just…be careful, with Lex."

"Of course, darlin'…" Trish murmured, her hand finding a small opening on his chest. Getting into it, he could actually watch this time as she typed a few things in within him. A little touch-pad with numbers and a small screen. "Good night, Ascelin."

"Night."

And slowly, things blurred out and flashed to static for about a second before blackness. Emptiness. It was almost like being dead – again? Because he had died, right? Hadn't he?

But then images, multiple of them. Like a kaleidoscope of colors and scenes. He was dreaming, his subconscious mind soon realized. A mech dream. Not so startling as his others had been it seemed for now.

Too many emotions, too much turmoil for it to at all make sense in his jumbled head and scrambled mind.

Until finally, a setting.

Surrounded by walls and a ceiling. He watched himself and Lex as if having an out-of-body experience. They were strapped down to those beds, and the _Thems_ holding a dead Pyro and Hex slipped somehow away to where – he didn't know.

And he watched in all of his horror as the remaining _Them_ began to tear away at him where he was stuck – dead? – to the old medical bed in the room. It was a frantic thing, because from what he could tell, _Them_ couldn't seem to remain still or even in the bodies they possessed for long periods of time.

Some would be cutting into and preparing him before vanishing and others would immediately take their places. Some came with parts, others with essences, all of them with either a piece of what he was now or a tool of some sort to break away the him that was there.

He screamed down at them, seemingly stuck up in the corner he was in. "Stop it! No!"

They gave no sign of hearing him or knowing about his presence there, watching. "Pyro?!" he shouted, struggling, wide-eyed wanting to move. His heart pounding and throat clenching up on him. "Lex?! Please!" he'd wanted to sleep to escape these things.

And then, a familiar face. Wasn't that…

Darkness.

Dropped to a dark ground that didn't exist to the bare eye to see. Like suddenly captured and trapped inside a big box of most literally, nothing. Nothing but black.

Getting up, Ascelin stared around. Hands clenched and looking frantically around for anything.

"Ascelin…"

He jerked, unable to detect where the voice had come from. Focusing for just a moment, his eyes lit up the immediate area about them, wherever he looked mostly. The light found her and she flinched away, shielding her eyes, pained.

"…Pan?" he faltered, looking at her. Feeling again, strangely passive. Like he had upon first reawakening.


	17. Chapter 17

"Ascelin, the light…"

He toned it down and she uncovered her eyes.

Crystalline blue.

He sighed, relieved but not relaxing as he stepped over and grabbed her. Pinning her to an invisible black wall and glowering dangerously. "What the fuck happened?! Tell me, now!"

She cried out, trembling, gripping his hard wrist in both of her thin, frail hands. "Please! Let go! Ascelin I will tell you but…you're hurting me!"

He noticed the tears, and then that he'd lifted her up off the ground that didn't exist. Lowering her back to her feet and feeling oddly bad, he didn't let her go. "Talk."

She flinched and whimpered before finally murmuring, "They – _Them_ changed you."

"Skip the obvious idiocy," he demanded. "And where are we? Aren't I dreaming?"

"Yes…" Pan admitted. "This is all in your head but…none of its fake. While they were…doing this, I slipped in and added my own part so…I can get into your head while you're sleeping and maybe even talk to you when you're not…"

"Why?" he growled half-heartedly. "Why did they do this to me…? Why did they take Pyro away?"

"Because… They need you. Don't you…remember what Pyro said?"

Slowly, hesitantly she snapped her fingers when he said nothing. An image appeared. Transparent, not real, Pyro was there. In the arms of a _Them_, the same one who killed him.

"_It's okay Brother…" Pyro whispered, tears running down his face. "It's only the angels… They're real, Big Brother. And…they chose you…"_

Ascelin knew that there would be more tears in his eyes if he allowed his image up. He didn't. "Pyro…" closing his eyes tight – which was the same now as turning the lights down all the way – he looked back to Pan upon 'reopening' them and letting her go. "Okay… Just please, make that go away…"

It faded back into nothingness and she shifted uncomfortably in front of him. "I'm so sorry, Ascelin…"

"What's happened…? What did they choose me for?"

She shook her head. "I think I get it but…" Pan sighed and looked away. "_Them_ are the angels that Mech-kids always want to put so much faith in, Ascelin… That's why you're feeling so passive towards me. I'm an angel, to you. But…not all _Them_ are the same. Because if there's angels…"

"There's demons too," he nodded. "Go on."

"I don't know why but…for some reason, the strongest and oldest _Them_ hate the rest, the angels. The most powerful ones of _Them_ are demons. Not as many, sure, but their power makes up for the lack of numbers…"

"That's why some _Them_ were killing each other at West Bridge…"

She nodded and went on. "Yes… But the angels, Ascelin, are all the good Masters and Familiars that…died. For some reason, they've never been able to move on…"

Ascelin hesitated at this. "And…what of the ones that marked you and me?"

"Those weren't the angels."

"I see…" and he was pretty sure he did. "The demons wanted us dead. The angels however…did this. But why did they take Pyro from me?"

"Because there was no other way you were making it out of that town alive that day. And…when an angel looks at you, they know you. They know all you've done, what you believe in, and…I dunno. Maybe they just saw something in you that they needed and…knew you'd help."

"They took Pyro away and killed him in front of me!" Ascelin snapped then and she whimpered and flinched once more. "All of these so called 'angels' can go straight to hell and even that's too good a fate for them!"

"Ascelin, please!" Pan squeaked and he unwillingly calmed back down, unclenching his fists. Her voice stayed soft, quiet, "They let him say goodbye… They did it quick and as painlessly as they could manage, and they let you keep his jacket… But mostly, you still remember him. They debated that, whether or not to take any recollection of him away from you or not… They let you keep him, Ascelin, in here…" gently, she put a hand up over where his heart would normally be.

He understood what she meant.

And he simmered further at that, feeling the loss tugging at him from within. "What do they want…?" he tried again.

"Help with…passing. They want to…be rid the demons…"

"Okay… And if you're an angel, does that mean you've died?" he was again almost thankful for the lack of emotion on his face.

"I'm dying, yes… I'm not quite yet, not technically and…I'm trying to find a way to stop it. To save Harmony. But…it's hard because of which demon marked me, mainly…"

He tilted his head and she shook hers. "That's not important. She was my big sister and…she hated me. But…" Pan sighed, taking slowly his hands in hers. Those tears returning, "Ascelin forgive me? Please? I can't stand when someone's unhappy with me…"

"I forgive you…" he admitted, mature enough to know that she'd done all she possibly could have. It wasn't technically her doing, they would have done this weather she'd been there or not. "But Pan, if you're not dead then where are you?"

"I'll return," she tried to assure. "I was just…scared to face you so… I ran and hid once you and Lexi disappeared…"

"Can you make it back on your own?"

"I can…try," she admitted, looking rather hopelessly around the black. "But don't worry, whether trouble rises or not, you'll hear from me later."

"When?"

"Once you wake."

"When will that be?"

"Now."

He opened his eyes and jerked partially up, startling Jake almost out of the chair he'd been sitting in beside him.

"Whoa! Calm down, man! Everything's alright."

"What are you doing in here?"

"I was just checking up on you for Trish and visiting for a littler personal assurance. Trish looks at you like she'd look at a child of her own and you've become quite the brother in arms for me and the others around here."

Sighing lightly, Ascelin suddenly regretting the snapping tone he'd used, he actually looked around. They were in his room, he was in his bed. Pyro's jacket no where to be seen…

"Hey, chill out."

He looked back to the hulking man skeptically before realizing his hologram was back on.

"Remember the upgrades that…he – they both had?"

Paling slightly, Ascelin nodded.

"Well, you got all three of 'em… His coat is in your storage, safe and sound as not to be smeared up or ruined out here."

"Where's Lexi?"

"She's awake. Getting something to eat, I'd reckon," Jake smiled and stood up, stretching and looking around. "You should probably go find her… I'll inform Trish of you consciousness."

"Does everyone…know?"

"Yes. They had to so as not to attack on sight as Trish nearly did I heard. Take it easy though, you were both sleeping for a couple days. No one wanted to wake you until Miss Lexi got up."

"Kay," Ascelin got up, brushing past Jake and out.

_~He said to take it easy, Ascelin…~_

Jerking to a stop and scanning around, he glowered dangerously, confused. "Pan?"

_~I told you I could still talk to you.~_

"And…what else can you do?"

_~Nothing short of hearing and seeing all you do if I wanna…~_

"If you wanna? A little creepy, don't you think?" he could almost imagine the blush on her face, the color flooding her cheeks.

_~No – you just had me worried so…~_

"Whatever," he muttered, pressing on.

Finding Lexi staring at a plate of Derek's cooking at an old table in one of their designated 'lounge' rooms, Ascelin pulled up another seat and sat down in the chair backwards, looking at her. "Lexi…"

She twitched something terribly, having been zoning, and looked to him. Sobering instantly, "Oh… Cel, you got your hologram… Looks –"

"Weak and problem free; I know. And no, I don't like it."

"Hm… I'm sorry," she murmured and he instantly felt bad again.

"But hey…" he shrugged, "Enough about me… How are you feeling?" he couldn't help but notice the necklace now around her neck. Hex's.

She frowned, clearly depressed, and shrugged back in response. "I…can't honestly say. I don't know… I'm glad you're awake though. Seeing you up makes me feel better…"

"Good," Ascelin nodded.

"Oh you two…" Derek spoke up from where he'd been putting things away and scrubbing some dishes before he came over and hugged them both at the same time. "Everything'll be okay, you'll see. Soon enough this will be just another bad memory that you won't have to think of again."

Lexi hugged back to the strangely feminine man and Ascelin sighed once more, being hugged and again not pulling or pushing away.

Memories. That as in what the angels – and demons were. Regretful and-or spiteful recollections of possibly both great and ancient past. That in mind, he'd never be able to forget.

Even once waking up Mech every morning was finally considered normal in his own mind, each glimpse of his reflection or action of his body would be a painful reminder. Of what he'd become, of what he surely would be for years to come, of what he'd lost…

Pyro…

_~Hey, you can't blame yourself for that…~_

"Fuck off…" he muttered and Derek immediately let go, raising an eyebrow down at him.

"Sorry kiddo. Just trying to help," he headed out and away down the hall and Lexi frowned more, socking him another good one in the arm.

"You thick in the head? What'd you do that for?"

"…Sorry," Ascelin grumbled, rubbing his arm and looking away, silently cussing himself out in his mind. "Sorry, we should go see Trish. You done eating?"

Staring at him for a full minute, she finally gave in and stood up. Leaving the untouched food and heading out to the hall. Looking back once to make sure he followed before continuing on.


End file.
